Two Guns and a Sword
by Alucard Dragula II
Summary: A re imagining of the Black Lagoon series. Set in the post apocalyptic future, while the world has gone to hell the Lagoon Company find ways to stay alive doing what they do best. Yet when a stranger arrives he threatens the delicate balance that has been set up by the powerful warlords of the wastelands. Will he be a savior or shall he be another harbinger of death?
1. Chapter 1 Its the End of the World

**Ch1. And I Feel Fine...**

They finally did it. Mankind had finally succeeded in destroying the Earth. The world became a barren wasteland with the majority of all life gone within minutes of the blasts across the world. Those who survived the blasts struggled to live off the land fighting one another for food water and fuel. Chaos was rampant with the strong oppressing the weak, those with power took what they wanted leaving nothing of value behind. In this world the scales have shifted in favor of chaos and it is up to one man to bring balance to the world and he is the Sword of the Mountain.

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"Revy you ready we have a caravan to capture" a muscular middle aged black man, with dark sunglasses, yelled down the hatch of his armored car to his gun woman. "Yeah Yeah Dutch I hear yah" replied Revy as she looked out at her target. Revy was an athletic half Chinese woman with purple brown hair, and well toned muscles. She had two pistols that she kept under her arms for easy access whenever she was in a firefight.

"Alright Revy remember as soon as they get into the pass we will move into range and take out the front and back cars" Dutch said as he readied the repeater ballista turret attached to the top of his armored car aiming at the lead truck. "Then we swoop in and kill them all" Revy grinned evilly as she loaded a clip into her Barret Riffle and aimed at the last vehicle in the caravan. As the line of trucks moved into a narrow pass their plan was set into action and they began moving into range.

(Play _Dead Man Walking_ by** Bloodsimple**)

As Revy got her targets within her sight she fired four shots at the last truck, two for the driver and two for the passenger. When Dutch got his sights on the lead car trying to get out of the caravan as quickly as possible he cranked the wench of his ballista and fired at the tires trying to prevent the target from escaping. The first thru fourth bolt hit the side of the car imbedding themselves 3 inches deep, while the fifth and seventh were successful in taking out front tire while the twelfth thru fifteenth bolts put the rear tires out of commission.

With the caravan trapped in the small path with no way to escape the two began picking off anyone who held a gun. Revy took out five guys trying to spot where the attacks originated from, while Dutch grabbed his Winchester M12 shot gun preparing for the close quarter combat. After Revy finished off her riffle's clip she cocked both her cutlasses as she prepared to jump from the moving car.

As the armored car turned to the side Dutch held on for dear life that he may not be flung from the moving vehicle's momentum while Revy jumped from the car and flew through the air. As she headed down into the kill zone she fired her guns multiple times killing seven men before she somersaulted across the top of a truck before running towards the back of the column shooting anyone who got in her way.

By the time dutch made it to the front of the column Revy had finished neutralizing any and all threats from the rear and was running towards Dutch. At that time their were only a few stragglers who tried desperately to fight the attackers yet they were no match for the devil woman with two guns.

(A/N:End Song. Unless you want to hear the full thing which if you do then be my guest because its a great song.)

The last remaining people from the convoy were smart enough to know when they were beaten and they quickly dropped their guns and surrendered. "Aww and just when the fun was starting" whined Revy as she kept her gun trained on the eight remaining people all huddled together. "Revy you know we can't afford to keep on having drawn out firefights we barely had enough ammo to take and hold the caravan." Dutch told her with an annoyed tone. Look just keep an eye on the hostages while I make sure the cargo is still in one piece." "Fine what ever" Revy huffed as she kept watch over the men who were surprised they were still alive.

Dutch looked through each of the trucks and saw that the caravan was chock full of food water and most importantly fuel. He counted about twelve barrels of oil that could run his employer's vehicles for two to three months if rationed accordingly. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a signal flare firing it into the sky.

Shortly after the flare was shot the ground rumbled as multiple trucks and humvees pulled up next to the armored car stationed at the top of the path. Men and women armed with all manner of weapons piled out of the vehicles in a military fashion surrounding the area as they prepared to transport the captured goods. As the food and water were checked they began to loot the bodies for weapons and ammo that they either carried or threw into the trucks for transport. As the small army finished gathering up what captured they started each of the trucks and drove out of the path out into the open wasteland.

After a good two hours of Driving the convoy and an armored car called the Sand Dune, arrived at a towering wall. After a short check in and processing they were allowed to enter the large metal gate. Inside were the remains of a small city that bustled with people moving away from the trucks as they sped through the streets towards a large hotel located at the center of the city surrounded by a barricade that separated the regular people from the hotel.

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"Ah...That hits that spot" Revy said after she downed another glass of Bacardi. She Dutch and Benny, their driver/tech genius, relaxed after a hard days work in their favorite bar the Yellow Flag. It was a bar that resembled an old western bar from the old movies, with its patrons playing cards for bullets and drinking home brewed alcohol or, if they could afford it, some of the vintage alcohol that survived the war.

"You know Dutch we got it good _hic_ we find convoys kill people and drink to our h-_hic-_earts content and the law can't stop us _hic_ because we are the law" Revy said to Dutch as the alcohol began to have an effect on her speech. 'Soon the booze will affect her mood and then we'll all be in trouble' Dutch thought to himself, chuckling as he watched his gunman drink herself into a stupor.

"Dutch!" said a pleased yet stern female voice that came from behind him. He turned around know full well who it was and faced a blond woman in a red business suit with burn marks covering her face. She was Balalaika, the Kapitan as her subordinates called her, she was the reason Revy was able to drink to her hearts content and allowed them to have a roof over their heads at night. Everyone who lived in the remains of the city owed her much and never dared to double cross her less they suffer a fate worst than death.

"There you are, I wanted to properly thank you and you team for finding and alerting us to the large convoy of much needed supplies. Thanks to you our militia will be well fed and mobile for the time being. The Snake Skins will also be set back months of scavenging which allows us the time to plan our attack" she said with an almost unnerving confidence.

"Your welcome Miss Balalaika, we are happy to do jobs for you anytime" Dutch said with a smile. "Well that's good to hear because tomorrow I need your team to scout out a possible outpost of our enemies, if it is an out post report back to us immediately, if it is nothing more than an oasis or a camp then we will recruit them to our cause" Balalaika replied as she walked away.

Dutch sighed as he turned around and drank from his glass. "Tomorrow is going to be another long day."

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**Well I hoped you like this first chapter please review.**


	2. Chapter 2 Bad Company

**CH2. I Cant Deny**

In the distance walked a figure of a man covered in a brown cloak. He swayed as he walked through the barren landscape fatigued from the lack of food and water. He was barely able stand on his two feet let alone travel the long distance across the wastelands, without the proper supplies.

After stumbling forward he saw in the distance what appeared to be a well on the edge of a small town. He had come across a few wells during his journey, yet each of them were dry, radioactive, or only had enough to give him a small sip of water. He prayed that this well would at least be able to give him more water than the previous wells.

As he shuffled forward he knew that the well had to be guarded or watched if it where on the edge of town yet despite this he continued towards the well longing for the sweet refreshing taste of water to quench his thirst. Finally arriving at the well he lowered the bucket down into the depths, then drawing the bucket back up after he felt it fill with water.

To his joy the water was not irradiated. Bringing the bucket to his cracked dry lips he slowly drank the contents, savoring the taste. After days of the hot sun beating down on him without any water to quench the near fatal thirst he finally felt he could rest before marching on.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" yelled a man with a crossbow as he along with twelve others surrounded the man by the well. Each of them were carrying spears bows and makeshift clubs with looks of fear and anger at the man who trespassed on their land.

Not having any energy left to stand up let alone fight them, he did the only thing he could do. The stranger raised his hands as high as he could and surrendered to them willingly. As he walked forward slowly he felt himself knocked to the ground face first and everything went black.

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"What did he have on him?" asked one voice in the darkness who was quickly answered by another voice that sounded younger. "He had a sword, a compass, an empty water flask, and this golden locket."

The mans eyes shot open at the mention of the locket and quickly looked to his side. He found himself in a prison cell with rusted bars and an old rickety stool. The two people that were talking were on the other side of the bars holding his affects, one was an old man who looked to be somewhere in his later sixties or his early seventies and a man who looked like he was in his mid thirties.

His eyes darted around where they were looking for the locket until he spotted it in the younger mans hands dangling by its chain. 'Calm yourself, don't let your emotions go rampant right now' his inner voice told him trying to calm himself down.

'You are a prisoner in this village and they probably mistook you for a bandit or a raider, just tell them who you are and get out' the voice in his head told him. The man got up and walked to the bars hoping to clear this mess up before it got any further out of hand.

Yet before he got the chance, there was a loud bell rung in the distance followed by the screams of people in the streets. "Raiders!" "Run For Cover!" "Save the Children!"

These were cries he had heard many times before in his long travels and he would not stand by waiting for a bloodbath. Grasping the steel bars of the prison cell he took a deep breath, then pried the bars open with a force unrivaled by any other. The two men in the room adjacent from him were in too great a shock to try and stop him. The Man quickly took his sword from the table and slowly walked towards the exit ready to face the enemy.

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"HA HA HA HA HA HA! KILL THE MEN AND TAKE THE WOMEN AND FOOD!" Shouted a titan of a raider he had a long scar on his left cheek and a tattoo of a claw over his right eyebrow. He revved his motorcycle to life as he led the charge into the town. A good twenty men yelled with joy and blood lust and they charged wielding axes, clubs, spears and a few guns. The villagers that tried to flee were cut down mercilessly where those who tried to fight back fared little better. Women were dragged by their hair across the streets having their clothing torn to shreds exposing their bare flesh to the wild sex craved barbarians. Some children were run over by the various vehicles speeding through the streets.

People fled in all directions yet they only delayed being caught or killed by the attackers. One woman tried running away, with her daughter in her arms, from the onslaught yet she was spotted by three muscular raiders who quickly surrounded her. "Heh heh heh! Finally there is a woman we can share brothers" said the raider who sported a Mohawk and held a long knife chuckled.

"Yeah I hate having to get the leftovers of what the boss and the others use" replied the skinny raider with braided hair holding a loaded crossbow.

"We have feel good with lady?" asked the largest and dimwitted of the three raiders who held a cinder block hammer. "Yes big guy we get to have _feel good_ with the lady and before the others" the first raider chuckled at his dimwitted brother. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something; it was a man cloaked and holding a sword still sheathed.

"Hey what do you want huh?" asked the Mohawk raider demanding an answer form the stranger. Yet there was no response, "If you want the woman you'll have to wait your turn we found her first." As soon as he finished his sentence the man began walking towards them ignoring his words completely. This act of defiance didn't go unnoticed by the three raiders as the skinny one aimed his crossbow at the mysterious man and fired.

**(Play The Good The Bad and The Ugly theme****)**

If any of them blinked they didn't realize it because the man held to bolt in between his fingers. Then, before the raiders could react in shock, with a flick of the mans wrist the arrow went sailing back hitting the thin raider square between the eyes going half way through his skull. When the dead man hit the ground the large raider lifted his hammer above his head screaming as ran towards the mysterious man in a fit of rage.

With speed unseen by normal eyes the man side stepped the behemoth and ended behind him. "Hey!" the man finally spoke. "Are those yours?" he asked in a mono tone, without turning around, as he pointed to two severed arms in the air that looked exactly like those of the giant's arms. When the Giant looked down at his short nubs that's when the pain and the blood started spurting everywhere. After a few seconds he died from the pain and blood loss.

The man with no name (_for now_) kept walking towards the Mohawk raider who was in a furious rage from the death of his brothers charged towards the mysterious man on his motorcycle. As the distance kept getting closer and closer the raider noticed the man wasn't even attempting to move or avoid the on coming vehicle, he just stood there waiting calmly.

When the Mohawk raider finally got into swinging distance,at 45 miles per hour(about 72 km per hour), the man, with no name, aimed the pommel of his sword towards the on coming raider and slammed it into his face knocking him off the bike.

Once the raider landed on the ground he felt a pain like no other building up inside his skull. It was a building pressure that caused his skull to expand at a rapid rate until. He desperately tried to stop the expansion by pushing on his head yet was failing. His head kept expanding further and further until it exploded scattering blood and brains everywhere.

The figure soon began his march towards the center of town ready to face the rest of the attackers and he would make them pay for the death and destruction they brought in their wake.

**(End Song _if it hasn't already ended_)**

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"GIVE US YOUR FOOD OIL AND WATER OR I'LL CRUSH THIS CHILD'S HEAD LIKE AN EGG!" shouted the leader of the Raiders holding a little girl with silver blonde hair above his head. He slowly flexed his hand that surrounded the girls head ready to kill her without a second thought just to emphasize his point. "If we do you'll probably kill us all anyway!" shouted a random bystander. "MAYBE SO BUT IF YOU DON'T I'LL KILL THIS GIRL THEN FORCE FEED YOU HER INTESTINES!" the leader laughed.

The raiders laughed, they loved seeing the people struggling to decide if the girl was worth the loss of supplies that they desperately needed to live.

Everyone was so occupied by the open display that they didn't notice the man with no name walk past them towards the leader of the Raiders. The Leader was confused at first at the sight of someone walking towards him with no fear. What happened next shocked everyone. The man kicked a broken piece of cement at the Leader who caught it in his mouth. He then crushed it with his bare teeth, fishing out a small piece of metal in the process.

"YOU TRYIN' TO PISS ME OFF YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH!" the Leader yelled at the one person who didn't cower at his mere presence. "Put her down now or you won't make it out of here alive" the nameless man said in a mono toned voice. The leader was stunned at first then began laughing at the ridicules threat "GET 'IM BOYS!" the Leader ordered and his men responded charging at the unknown man.

The man with no name merely walked forwards shedding his cloak revealing he wore a torn up white business shirt, jeans and a sword at the hip. As the raiders got closer and closer he merely walked forwards at a slow pace slowly drawing his sword from its scabbard.

When the first raiders reached him he swung once and moved past them without a second glance. He did this three more times each of the raiders seemingly unharmed until they all turned to face him. Then their bodies began to slowly and painfully fall apart, sliding down the angles in which they were cut with a fountain of blood spurting from their wounds.

The Leader was shocked seeing his men so quickly and easily cut down as if they were cattle. He then felt something he hadn't felt since he was a little boy, fear, yet he didn't show it he was still convinced that he could kill this puny little man. "Put her down now" the man said once again in a mono toned voice. "YEAH SURE I'LL PUT HER DOWN. RIGHT AFTER I SNAP HER NECK!" the former Leader of the raiders laughed squeezing the girls head and slowly twisting her neck.

'_Big mistake_' thought the man as he roared then stabbed with his blade at multiple parts of the Leaders body so rapidly that you could only tell it moved from the flashes of light from where it once was. Then the man drew back his sword arm then stabbed at the Leader's temple yet never contacted but a force knocked him back causing him to fall to the ground and release he girl. The nameless man quickly caught the helpless girl as she fell turning his back to the _soon to be_ dead man.

'What the hell just hit me?' the Leader thought to himself as he slowly got up. Then he remembered that it was the little man before him with his back turned to him. "YOU JUST SIGNED YOU DEATH WARRANT LITTLE MAN! BECAUSE WHEN I FIGHT ITS TO THE DEATH!" he boasted holding a large axe in his hand as he stood up. "お前はもう死んでいる-omae-wa-mou-shindeiru" were the last words the Leader would ever hear before his body literally exploded at every part of his body ending with his skull.

The man with no name put down the girl and let her run to her parents who were amongst the crowd. After that he sheathed his sword took out a match and a self made cigarette and took a puff. "Give me two gallon jugs of water, a loaf of bread and some jerky and I'll be on my way" he said to the townsfolk as he continued smoking.

In less than ten minutes he was given what he desired then began his long journey across the waste lands. "Wait what is your name?" asked the little girl he saved as he walked away. He turned and faced her and said with a warm smile "My name is Rock."

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**Well what do you think so far? Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3 House of the Rising Sun

**Hey Guys here is the next chapter hope you enjoy. Thanks for the comments guys I'd like more thoughts on the story. Please R&amp;R.**

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**Ch.3 House of the Rising Sun**

"Uuurrrggg! How much did i drink last night?" Revy asked no one in particular as she woke up to a jack hammer going off in her skull. "Must've drank a lot to get this bad a hangover. _groan_ Where are the pain pills?" As she stumbled out of bed she found the bottle of aspirin in her bathroom cabinet right next to a bottle of Bacardi. After taking the aspirin with the Bacardi(**Do not attempt!**) she got dressed in her standard attire, put her hair up in a ponytail, loaded her guns and began her walk towards the Lagoon company building.

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**(Play Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage The Elephant)**

Revy walked through the litter filled streets of New Roanapur casually watching as the people in the street quickly got out of her way. Everyone in the city of the damned knew to say out of her way less they wanted a bullet right between their eyes. She was the second most feared woman in the city only Balalanka could claim the title of Goddess of death. But that didn't bother Revy she liked being feared it allowed her to do almost anything she wanted in town.

As reached the stairs of the Lagoon Company building she noticed a man riding a donkey and wearing a poncho was being harassed by the Colombian gangsters. They were telling him that he better find a different street to walk on if he didn't want to get hurt and that weaklings like him weren't welcome in this part of town. From what she could tell at her distance he was an average looking Japanese male with dark black hair and a toned body. "He won't last the week" she told herself as she saw them fire gun shots at the feet of the donkey as she walked up the stairs of the run down office building.

As Revy opened the door she saw Dutch sitting down at the couch reading an six year old magazine that talked about the "problems of organized crime." She smirked at the title, Revy also noticed Benny working on his own personal "project" in the back bedroom. Benny had always gone on about having a solar panel placed on the roof to power the building without relying on the power plant owned by Balalanka; he said it would help cut down on the use of oil and keep them self sustained.

Revy ignored most of Benny's lectures about saving on oil in this kind of world and went to work cleaning her guns and counting ammo. For her it was simple if someone had something you wanted and they didn't give it to you, then you take it by force. Revy found that this kind of mindset helped keep her alive and allowed her to get in the good graces with one of the most deadliest warlords in the wasteland.

She enjoyed the life she had now and would not listen to anyone's bullshit about trying to make the world the way it was. "If the world was so great before why did the leaders of the world decided to blow it up?" she would often ask, if not yell, at these people who tried "fixing the world." It was a lost cause in her mind and it would prefer to keep living the way she did without anyone telling her other wise.

After two hours of cleaning and putting her guns back together and returned them to her holsters. Satisfied with her work she got up and headed for the fridge where she kept a cold pizza. She took out two slices not even bothering to re heat them, and sat down on the couch and started eating savoring each bite until there was nothing left.

No less than a few minutes passed after she finished the "rare delicacy" she heard a loud scream outside. Curious she walked to the window and was shocked at what she saw. Four men where laying on the ground near the Colombian's compound in pools of their own blood. "Holy Shit! Dutch check this out!" Revy yelled to her boss. Dutch knew that Revy was never easy to impress so he hurried to the window and was just as surprised by the sight. The weirdest thing for both of them was that there was no one standing near the bodies as if the killer killed them then vanished.

**(End Song)**

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When Rock entered New Roanapur he expected to find a run down city with people scavenging for supplies and shooting anyone in their way. Yet he was surprised to find that it was a well organized. Buildings were powered by electricity, they had running water and even had apartments, and hotels, with numerous residents living within them.

While there were a few problems such as litter in the streets and slave trading the city itself was self sufficient from the outside. As Rock got further and further into the city he saw prostitutes and venders of all sorts selling weapons of all sorts, custom made clothing and food. He enjoyed this view it gave him comfort knowing that all manner of civilization had not vanished from the face of the earth.

Yet the inhabitant's manners were severely lacking, three Colombians made sure to give a "warm welcome" to the city. As he rode in on his donkey the Colombians tried to scare him thinking he might be the type to run from a fight. That was their first mistake.

"Hey Amigo! It's not smart to go wandering so far from home" one of them laughed as he rode in. "I bet he picked the wrong street," "No I think he picked the wrong town" chuckled the two other Colombians. "I believe his biggest mistake was being born" said the first Colombian gangster trying to intimidate Rock further. "I bet if he wants a job he could be a scare crow on the wall," "Nah he's more likely to get scared off by the crows." They kept berating him until finally firing a few shots at the feet of his mule that sent it into a running frenzy. That was their second mistake.

As the mule went fast and more out of control by the second, Rock was forced to grad a wooden sign post to safely get off the wild mule. Thankfully he had his sword water canteen and what little food he had left on him, in his bag. He quickly noticed that the sign post was next to a hotel of average quality and there was a man in the old western styled door way looking at him. "Good morning" Rock said solemnly and he hug from the sign post. "Salute" replied the man with a grin that Rock couldn't tell if it was from what just happened or if he was trying to get another customer.

Rock let go of the sign post and dropped to the ground with ease and walked up to the man and said "You the owner?" "Si my good man" he replied with a grin "I am Alfonso and, welcome to the House of The Rising Sun!"

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Alfonso listed off all of the benefits of living in his hotel as if i were the only building to have such pleasure's in the city. After the tour of the _"luxurious"_ hotel Alfonso looked a Rock with a wide toothy grin and said "The price for a weeks stay here is one Gallon of Gasoline, or fifty rounds of ammo."

Rock stared at Alfonso with a blank stare trying to see if he would back down from the set price. Rock took out a thin cigar and lit it with a match taking a long drag "What if I gave you a counter offer. I could help you around here for the days I stay here until i find a new place to shack up." Alfonso was taken aback by this sudden counter offer.

"Look if you want to stay here I need bullets or oil, this place doesn't run on free handouts" Alfonso said with an annoyed tone people who didn't have the things he wanted tried giving the things he didn't need to run his establishment. Alfonso thought about what Rock could do for him in exchange for a room then chuckled when he thought of an answer.

"...but there is something you could try doing though it's suicide." Alfonso started ambiguously then continued after waiting five seconds for Rocks reaction. "There are three asshole Colombians who constantly use my the side of my building as target practice. It scare the shit out of my residents if you convinced them to stop then I would give you two weeks of free stay."

Without a second thought Rock started walking out of the hotel and exited the front door casually. 'Ha that will teach the poor to come to my establishment' Alfonso laughed to himself as he watched Rock walk towards the Colombians. "Wait a minuet what is he doing?" wondering why a man would walk towards certain death for a room.

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Rock slowly made his way to the three Colombians at the end of the street passing a coffin make along the way simply saying "Get three coffins ready." The old coffin make nodded with a kind smile as he watched Rock walk away casually. By the time he arrived at the Colombian's hideout there were now four men with weapons waiting there snickering at him.

"Hey stranger didn't you get the message we don't like new guys like you walking on our turf so go get your mule. What did you let him get away?" The first gangster said chuckling at the memory of Rock's misfortune earlier that morning.

Rock merely stood there took the cigar from his mouth and looked at each of them measuring their distance from him. "You see that's what I wanted to talk to you about you see he's feeling real bad."

The Colombian gangsters were slightly confused by what he said to them until he continued. "My mule you see he got all riled up when you fired those shots at his feet" Rock said with a small grin as he slowly moved his left foot forward.

"You trying to tell a joke?" replied another one of the gangsters as they all tried to wrap their heads around the situation.

"No you see I get that you men were just playing around but the mule he just doesn't get it now if you were to apologize" Rock started before the Colombians started laughing at the ridiculous request.

Rock then looked down and moved his poncho to the side freeing his arms from restrictions to draw his sword. "I don't think it's nice that you are laughing" Rock said in a serious tone and with a look that could kill, if the men weren't stupid enough to know they were dead. The gangsters soon stopped laughing looking at Rock as if he meant to try and kill them.

"You see my mule doesn't like it when people are laughing, he gets the strangest idea that they are laughing at him. Now if you apologize like I know you're going to I might convince him you really didn't mean it" Rock said glaring at each of the gangsters who were reaching for their guns.

The whole incident was over in a few seconds. As each of the gangsters tried to draw their guns Rock was already at the closest one slicing upwards across the mans chest and throat. The second man was killed with a downward slash severing his left arm and leg. The third man was stabbed through the bottom of the neck which was sliced through as Rock decapitated the fourth man in one swing.

On lookers were shocked at the sudden death of four men in the middle of the street by a man with a sword. Rock slowly made his way back to The House of The Rising Sun and passing the old coffin maker who was smiling at Rock. As he passed the old man he said "My mistake four coffins." Once he returned into the Hotel he took a key from behind the main desk and walked to his new room, without any resistance from Alfonso.


	4. Chapter 4 Raw Hide

**Chapter 4 Raw Hide**

"Dutch and Revy stood in the dusty torn up street examining the bodies of the dead Colombian gangsters up close and were awed by the clean cuts to swiftly put them six feet under. "Shit this doesn't look good" Dutch said as he saw the the tattoo's on each of their inner left arms. "These guys work for the Manzarella cartel Abreago's gonna be pissed when he finds out about this" "Yeah who ever was stupid enough to kill these fuckers, will have a target painted on his back as long as he's alive" Revy replied with the same seriousness as Dutch.

"It wasn't long before the rest of the Manzarella cartel members showed up on the scene weapons in hand, with Abreago leading read faced. "Who the FUCK! did this?"demanded Abreago his eyes turning red with rage at the sight before him. "WHO KILLED MY MEN HUH!?" Abreago yelled looking around for someone to blame for the death of his men. He spotted Revy and Dutch and immediately started walking towards them.

"Hey Lagoon Company!" "Fuck" Revy and Dutch said at the same time, "Did you see who killed my men?" "No Abreago we know just about as much as you do in this matter" Dutch said trying to calm Abreago down before he shot someone who had no affiliation with this murder. 'Heh murder never thought I'd have to say those words again' Dutch thought to himself. "When I find the fucker who did this I'm going to nail him to cross and leave him on the wall to die" Abreago said as he left the scene with his men both alive and dead.

"Well I don't know about you Dutch but I'm going to head down to the Yellow Flag, No point in wasting away standing here" Revy said as she walked down the street to her favorite watering hole. "Sigh Yeah well don't get to shit faced Revy we may have a job tomorrow you here" Dutch replied as he made his way back to the apartment. As he entered the building he thought he saw out of the corner of his eye a man wearing a dark green poncho over a white dress shirt walk the way Revy was heading.

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Rock made his way down the street the way his land lord Alfonso pointed saying that the best bar in town was just a few blocks down the street and would give him a nice meal if he paid for it up front. He followed the street to the end until he made it to the western style saloon doors of the bar known as the Yellow Flag.

From the outside Rock was not entirely impressed by the building yet compared to the other building surrounding it, the bar had held up quite nicely. The wood doors were stained to give it that extra old western style feel when you looked at it and as Rock entered he saw that the bar was just as authentic in nature. While there were a few bullet holes in the tables, walls and the counter top, the place looked just as good as Alfonso described it.

He notice there was only a women, with tribal tattoo's on her right arm wearing a black tank top and Daisy duke shorts, sitting at the bar counter quickly drinking a bottle of whiskey shot by shot. Walking up to the counter he noticed that there were eyes on him many of them eying him as they waited to see what Rock would do. "Could you give me a beer sir?" Rock asked the bartender as he sat down on a vacant stool two seats down from the tattooed woman.

"That's just piss you'd be drinking stranger" It was the woman sitting to his left who said this and Rock was slightly annoyed by her choice of words.

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Revy was shocked that some stranger actually had the balls to sit next to her at the bar and not fear for his life. The people in Roanapur knew to keep their distance from her on the street, in the field of battle, and defiantly at the bar. Those who didn't usually ended up on her bad side either hitting on her or trying to sweet talk her into having sex with her; these people ended up getting their asses kicked shortly after.

'Yet here a complete stranger just sat down, in my territory no less, and ordered a Fuck'in beer instead of anything else, man he must be a fucking wimp or a guy whose got no sense of taste' Revy thought to herself.

"Excuse me?" the stranger asked, in a slightly confused voice, about her comment.

"In my opinion Beer in no better than piss that shit will never get you drunk. REAL men drink rum" Revy said smirking at her insult hoping to get under this guy's skin. "...BUT if you' don't have the balls to be able to keep up with a woman than go right ahead" after her remark the room went silent and whispers were passed back and forth in the background.

"I'm sorry MISS but I wasn't planing on getting shit faced this early in the day like some teenager at their first house party" the man retorted in a calm voice before he started chugging his glass. When he finished his glass he set it down firmly and reached for a shot glass next to Revy and quickly drank the shot without the slightest hesitation. "How ever I could still drink you under the table if I wanted to" the man replied with a small smirk on his face.

For any who heard this reply, while they were drinking, immediately did a spit take, no man in the entire city had the balls to say that to the second most deadliest woman in New Roanapur. Anyone with more than a single brain cell knew to never do three things around Revy.

Never hit on Revy or treat her like a piece of ass to tap, She'll Kick you're ass. Never fight with her physically of verbally it will put you in an earlier grave, and never try to drink her under the table you would die from alcohol poisoning just trying to keep up with her. And here a complete stranger in the city of the Dead just broke the third Cardinal rule regarding Revy. Men immediately began making bets on the two drinkers ready to see who would make them some extra cash for the week.

With the challenge made Revy couldn't back down from a good old fashioned drinking match, her reputation as the undefeated Two Hands was at stake. She quickly grabbed an empty shot glass, filled it, then quickly swallowed the contents then stared into the strangers eyes not faltering, letting the man before her know she accepted his challenge.

After a few seconds of intense starring the two intimidating patrons quickly spun their heads to face the bar tender and yelled "BRING US ALL THE WHISKEY YOU HAVE!" with both of them slamming down a fist full of bullets and water tokens to buy the first few drinks.

* * *

**(Play Have a Drink On Me AC%DC)**

It had already been half and hour since Rock had been drinking with this tough and sexy, though he never would say it out loud, woman with a tribal tattoo on her right arm. Time seemed to drag on for him to the point where he didn't even notice the jukebox playing a song that suited the mood quite well.

Rock and his female opponent drank 6 bottles of Bacardi and were working their way down the bottom of the seventh when they both showed signs of fatigue. Rock's legs felt like jello and he was light headed he knew that if there was a fight in the next few hours he would be at a sever disadvantage. Yet his opponent seemed to be fairing far less than him, she was leaning in her chair and hanging onto the counter for support to prevent her from falling down. He figured if he stayed in the chair for five more drinks he would be victorious.

* * *

Rock counted each drink as the music played in the background _four drinks to go_ 'Damn this is gonna be close' Rock thought as he felt the alcohol slowly start to affect his vision.

_Three Drinks to go_ 'Oh God I think I'm gonna throw up' Revy thought as she reached for the next drink missing it a few times before grabbing it and struggling to drink the contents quickly.

_Two drinks to go_ 'Im surprised I'm still alive after this much alcohol' Rock thought as he grabbed the next glass from the counter not even recognizing the taste.

_One Drink to go_ 'I think I'm gonna beat this guy after the next shot' Revy told herself as she held the glass full of booze in a unsteady hand then brought it up to her lips.

_**Thunk!**_

**(End Song)**

* * *

To the onlookers they were shocked at the outcome of the drinking match. Revy, Two Hands, the second most deadly woman in Roanapur collapsed out of her bar stool onto the floor. Then shortly after there was another loud _**Thunk!** _Rock had also passed out on the floor from the consumption of alcohol facing Revy.

For the onlookers who made bets on who would win the drinking match the fighting began over who won and who lost. For those who bet on Rock, who they called the stranger, said since he passed out after Revy he won the match. For the sore losers who bet on Revy tried arguing that since Rock passed out right after Revy did they match was a draw. Verbal insults and fist fighting soon ensued after the indecisive nature of the bar patrons on who beat who in the drinking match.

After a few knocked heads and broken bones later the bar was "Peaceful" once again. No more than five minutes later Dutch and Benny arrived on the scene to see the aftermath in the Yellow Flag. "Shit didn't you just refurbish the place last week Bao?" Dutch asked the bartender who was wiping his counter top down with and irritated face and simply replied with a hissed "_Yes._"

Dutch soon found who he was looking for spotting Revy passed out on the ground laying next to a stranger wearing a desert parka and black jeans. "Well Bao sorry to take and run, but if Revy isn't back at the apartment when she wakes up she gets really bitchy" Dutch said as he scooped Revy off the ground ready to walk out the bar when Bao stopped him.

"Hey! Take that guy as well" Bao said pointing to the man laying right next to where Revy was. "I don't know where he lives and I don't want to find out if he is just as bad as Revy after waking up t a hangover" he said as he went back to cleaning up his bar.

Dutch looked down at the unconscious stranger and sighed picking him up as Benny held Revy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "There better be some explanation when Revy wakes up" Dutch thought to himself as they made their way back to their apartment/place of business.

* * *

Abreago sat in his worn office chair fuming over the lose of his men. He had ordered all of his men to search the city for eye witnesses, yet despite hours of interrogations and bribery no one could give a decent enough description other than that the man was Asian and had a sword. This would have been helpful to him if the city wasn't populated by a wide variety of Asians, from the Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, former Indonesian pirates turned mercenaries and raiders.

"We have searched the city for twelve hours and we've come up with nothing Mr. Abreago" said one of his subordinates who was sweating bullets as he gave the bad news.

Abreago stood up quickly knocking back his chair and yelled as loud as he could "FUCK!"

"FUCK! I WANT THE MOTHER FUCKER FOUND NO MATTER WHAT! I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO GO TO WAR WITH THE YELLOW BASTARDS JUST TO FIND HIM, I WANT THE BASTARD FOUND AND KILLED YOU GOT THAT!"

"Y- ye-yes sir" stammered the man as he quickly backed away from his boss. "NO WAIT! Spread the word any useful information on the Fucker who killed my men today will be paid in bullets, oil, water or flesh. You got that!"

"Yes Mr. Abreago I'll spread the word as fast as I can" and with that the man ran out of the building as fast as his legs could take him not wanting to wait for a further outburst from his boss.

* * *

The next morning Revy awoke with a splitting hangover that rivaled her normal hangovers times ten. "Urgh! What happened last night? Normally when I drink I just get a headache that I can handle but this is just torture" she said aloud to no one in particular.

Revy struggled getting up from the bed and slowly made her way to the dirty bathroom. "Where did I leave the pain killers" she whined holding her head as she shifted through the medicine cabinet searching for the pain relief she desired. After struggling for a long five minutes she finally found her bottle of medicine and swallowed a handful hoping the increased amount would take care of the pain faster.

After a good fifteen minutes of getting dressed and gathering her guns and whatever ammo she had in her room she opened her door to find a shocking sight. There on her couch sat a complete stranger massaging his temples. Revy quickly drew her Cutlasses out of their holsters and aimed them at the stranger. What Revy had not expected was to have a blade at her throat at nearly the exact same moment.

"Who the Fuck are you and how did you/I get here" they both yelled at the same willing to kill one another just to get the answer.

"You first you god damn bastard" Revy said squeezing her fingers ever so slightly on the triggers if the intruder made any sudden movements.

"I'm the guest so you tell me before I slice your throat open and ruin this nice couch" Rock replied calmly.

At that moment Dutch walked in just in time before the blood started flowing. "What the hell is going on Revy? Here I am going to kindly welcome our guest an you are threatening to put a bullet in his head right after surviving a drinking contest with you."

"BULLSHIT DUTCH!" Revy yelled in disbelief still aiming her guns at the man right in front of her. "No man has ever been brought back here after he loses a drinking match with me so he had to've broken in here" Revy tried to reason the alcohol from the previous night still clouding here judgement and reasoning.

"Wrong on both accounts Revy. According to Bao, and a few on lookers, you lost the drinking match just before this guy passed out. Also Bao made me bring him here since he didn't know where he lives" Dutch replied trying to defuse the situation before things got out of hand.

Thankfully, for Dutch and Benny, Rock and Revy withdrew their weapons slowly not taking their hands off of them. "Fine, but if he makes a move I'll put him down for good!" Revy emphasized, "Agreed" Rock replied.

* * *

After a few minutes of calming down Revy and Rock sat at opposite ends of of the room. There was an uneasiness felt in the room by everyone it wasn't until Dutch broke the ice by offering a cigaret to Rock.

"So what's you name stranger or shall we just keep calling you stranger?" Dutch asked as he cracked a joke. To everyone's surprise Rock chuckled and replied "My birth name is Rokuro Okajima, but no one calls me that anymore. You can call me Rock" he said with a small smile on his face.

"Right nice to meet you Rock I'm Dutch the head of this delivery/mercenary company, the skinny white guy with glasses is Benny he was once a computer wiz from Florida that came here before the war, and I know you've already met Revy, she is our hired gun. We often do odd jobs that are often dangerous just to put food on the table." Dutch finished.

Rock looked at each of them focusing on their facial expressions and their attitudes towards him. Dutch seemed like a negotiator and a calm man who wouldn't fight unless he had to. From what he could tell about Benny he seemed like a laid back kind of guy who hadn't even held a gun let alone use one. Where as Revy was everything the other two weren't, she had a bad attitude she was aggressive and she looked at Rock with an icy glare almost if she was trying to kill him with her eyes.

"Thank you for the introduction, I'll be sure to look you guys up if I need anything delivered" Rock said as he gathered his few belongings and started towards the door.

"Wait a sec!" Dutch said before Rock walked out into the city. "Look, I can't let you go without asking you this first" Dutch sighed unsure why he was even asking Rock in the first place. "Would you be interested in joining us even if it is for a short while? We each get a piece of the profit and we can keep what ever we find as long as we finish the job." Rock was kind of take back by the offer and was slightly intrigued. "So, Rock what will it be?"

* * *

**Hey guys I hope you enjoy it and I have to thank each of the readers that have reviewed my story so far and enjoy the plot and action scenes I'm sorry if there wasn't any action or enough action in this chapter, but the next one will be full of that so please wait and thank you once again.  
**


	5. War Is The Answer

**Hi everyone I'm sorry for not posting a chapter sooner. But there was a family tragedy that I had to deal with it made it hard for me to think of anything to write or have any inspiration. Know that I will try to get another chapter up as soon as possible and I would like to hear more feed back from you guys.**

**Ch. 5 Isn't It?**

If anyone had told Rock two days ago that he would have joined a small group of mercenaries that sold their services to anyone that needed a job done he would have thought they were using something. Yet here he was riding on a modified all terrain vehicle with weapons and spikes sticking off the sides to take on anyone dumb enough to attack them.

Their job was to pick up a important package for the Manzarella Cartel who were currently on the warpath for someone who killed some of their men. _"Better not kill anymore of my new clients people from now on"_ Rock thought to himself as he looked out one of the silted windows of the Sand Dune. The package in question was very important and that was it. There was no explanation or reason given it was important and that's all the Group need to know.

Rock kept thinking to himself "Why did I join them?" he still didn't understand it. Was its because he had spent the past two years alone, or was it because he needed a source of income in the city? He didn't know and probably wouldn't know for the rest of his life among the Black Dune company.

"Hey we're coming up on our target so everyone get ready" Rock heard Dutch say through the radio as they came upon an open clearing. There was nothing in sight but a vast empty desert and a small cavern several miles below showing the surviving wreckage of The War. Rock was all to familiar with sights like these during his travels across the wastelands. The sights made him hate the foolish decisions of the world that lead to that lead to the destruction of all he held dear.

"Hey Rock quit spacing out we are about to meet up with our package handler" Revy said snapping him out of his thought process. "Yeah, sorry give me a sec" he replied as he picked up his sword and exited the Sand Dune.

* * *

There was a large dust covered semi truck with six long trailers being pulled behind it. Each of the trailers were heavily armed and armored with at least six men guarding the contents carrying crossbows and patched up guns. The sight was impressive to Rock to see that the caravan was united by one vehicle that looked to have taken on about twenty raids and still make it out in almost one piece. As the Behemoth came to a stop twelve men came out of the side of the trailers lead by the driver.

"Hey Dutch how are you?" said the Driver. The driver was a short fat man with a thick beard and gold rings adorning his fingers and necklaces and trinkets around his neck and ears. "I'm fine William, I see you've picked up a few new wares in your travels" Dutch said with a polite smile that Rock could tell was forced.

"Ha! yes I have I picked up a few new concubines and a few new guns as well since we last met. I also see you've picked up another crew member" William said pointing at Rock. What was one hired gun not enough for you any more?" William joked.

Revy's eye twitched at the comment, which was not lost on Dutch who tried changing the subject "So anyway William do you have our packages we need to complete a few jobs. We have the gas water and or bullets for the usual items." "Ah that's great Dutch but I'm going to have to put a little wrinkle in our normal transaction. You see we've been hit a lot more than we have been over the past few months and we will need to ask for a little extra" William said with a small yet noticeable smirk on his face. Dutch knew that this was going to be a possibility, William was known for raising the price after a small band of desperate fools trying to survive, attack the Behemoth hoping to get some much needed food.

William would always embellish the numbers and how he and his men would barely make it out alive and each one of his customers had to listen to the bullshit or they weren't able sample his "fine" products. Revy groaned inwardly as she listened to another bullshit story William came up with as Benny, Rock and Dutch gathered the water and food in exchange for bullets guns and their special package for the Manzarella Cartel.

After Dutch and William transferred each others goods William brought out a black bag tied up bag that jerked every so often. This was unsettling to both Rock and Dutch yet they kept their mouths shut as Dutch took the bag and carried it to the Sand Dune. "Rock can you watch over the package for a sec I just have to finish up a few things with William then we can leave" Dutch told Rock as he left the bag in the side door.

* * *

"Alright Dutch I'll see you the next time we do business" William laughed as he and his men boarded the Behemoth and left the meeting place as quickly as they had arrived. Rock was surprised at how efficient they left almost as if they were once members of the military.

"Hey Rock quit spacing out we're going!" Revy yelled as the Sand Dune's engine roared to life. Rock stared at the bag intently as it lay on the dirty flood of the back of the truck. He was uneasy sitting next to the package as its contents struggled around on the floor. After they traveled for about a mile Rock opened the bag and became furious immediately.

It was a young boy, who looked no more than ten with blonde hair, was tied and gagged in the bag. He quickly took the kid out of the bag and untied him hoping to get some answers from him, what he got was a punch in the face, and a stomp on his foot. Neither of these hurt him yet he was slightly shocked by the boy's will to fight as he tried to get out of the moving vehicle.

Not wanting to get yelled at by his new "boss" Rock quickly stuck out his finger and tapped three points on the boy's back. The boy soon immediately froze and stood with his arms at his side as if he were a statue. "What did you do to me the boy" demanded as best as he could despite his current situation. "I hit certain pressure points in your body that temporarily paralyzes the victim, but don't worry you should only stay like this for an hour at most" Rock assured him not wanting to stress the boy any further.

As Rock sat the boy down in a more comfortable position he was about to light a cigar when he remembered there was a kid next to him. After he returned his cigar to his poncho's pocket he turned to the child and said "So Who are you? and who taught you how to throw a right hook like that."

The boy was uncertain at first not knowing if he should trust this new captor or not, after a few minuets of silence he finally answered. "My name is Garcia Lovelace and I learned how to fight from my maid and caretaker Roberta."

* * *

At that very moment in the city of Roanapur an woman dressed as a maid walked around the streets asking for information about a young boy and a group of Colombians who made a small base of operations in the city. She did this for two full hours until she was directed to The Yellow Flag bar.

* * *

Rock listened closely to the young boy's tale paying close attention to everything that Garcia said that led up to his current situation.

"My father owned a small patch of land before the war and tried his luck at running a large farm during the war to give people food because of the constant shortages and rationing by the government. It was hard for people to live and survive, my father was a source of food and hope for the surrounding villages. Yet after the governments used nuclear weapons the land became uninhabitable, we were able to hold out in a small fallout shelter where my father a few of the servants, Roberta and I where able to stay safe. Afterwards we traveled for two years looking for sanctuary and by mere chance or by the fate of God we came across an oasis where we founded a village filtering and distributing water to those who need it."

Garcia smiled at the good memories and frowned at the sad ones as he told his experiences in the wasteland with what little friends and family he had to protect him. "This may be why he's not afraid of me his hardships and trials have hardened him to the harsh world around him" Rock thought as Garcia continued his tale. The boy's face became blank as he stared at the seat in front of him remembering the recent and darkest memories he had faced.

"But then there were some heavily armed men that came to talk with my father a few months back. They said they would offer protection to him and all those who inhabited the village if they were given access to the water supply and refuge." Garcia recalled the memory well being present at his fathers side when the exchange took place.

"At first they kept their end of the bargain and they protected us without even interacting with everyone living in the city. Yet they soon became more and more demanding ordering us to give them more water so much so that the water that was meant to go to other villages near by, went to quenching the thirst of their ever growing army. That was when my father ordered them to leave he refused to be extorted by thugs seeking land and power after he gave them water and food to live." Anger showed itself in the young boy's eyes as the action of those men forever stayed imprinted in his memory.

"After their expulsion they tried attacking our village twice both time they were repelled by the men and Roberta. It was as if she were a goddess of war repelling the men one after the other without showing any signs of stopping." Garcia smiled in admiration as he remembered the way Roberta looked as she saved the village. Then Garcia's face became sour once more as he recalled the events following the second attack.

"After they were driven from the town I was kidnapped by them, they said that if they couldn't take the water by force they would make a trade all of the water for me. Yet that is a stupid plan, my father would never give up the water for me he would either come to an alternate deal or he would have me saved" Garcia said turning to look Rock in the eye.

"Do you know that for a fact?" Rock asked a little skeptical despite his small desire for the boy to be reunited with his father. He could relate with that sense of love and caring received from a father.

"I do, if my father can't save me himself Roberta will come to save me, she's really strong!" Garcia said trying to convince Rock. "One time when the men came to talk to my father we were arm wrestling every time we would play she would always loose to me on purpose yet not that day. She held her arm firm as if it were made of steel. Another instance was when the men attacked the village, I never got to see the battle but, I would here stories, from the men who fought in them, about how it was Roberta that did most of the fighting. I have always respected her and always will, which is why I asked her to train me to defend myself."

Rock looked into the eyes of Garcia and saw that the boy wasn't lying he truly believed that Roberta was strong and that she would find him no matter what. Then the mood was killed by a hysterical laughter coming from the doorway. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA That's the funniest fucking thing I've ever heard of in my LIFE! HA HA HA What is she gonna throw a tea cup at me? HE HE HE HE Kid if she's real and as strong as you make her out to be I'll believe anything you say even if you said that Jesus rode a chopper down route 66 HAHAHAHA!" Revy laughed at the story as she tried keeping her balance in the moving vehicle while clutching her sides.

After Revy finished laughing she composed herself as best she could smirking at the story "Is there a reason you came back here or did you just want to make fun of us?" Rock asked glaring at Revy. "Yeah he he he. Yeah Dutch wanted you to know that we are coming into town soon so we should get ready" Revy replied. Rock gave a small nod to Revy before he walked to the drivers seat where Dutch was to tell of this new development.

* * *

Rock told the story of Garcia to Dutch not leaving out any details. "This story sounds fishy, why didn't the Manzaerlla Cartel tell us about this is something to worry about on its own but the fact that they want to find another city to set up a base means they want to expand their power further than the other armies" Dutch explained to Rock.

"Perhaps they'd figured we'd bail if we had a trained killer coming after us" Benny said as he looked through the para scope checking for any unwanted attention on their trail. Dutch nodded in agreement spotting Roanapur in the distance as they continued driving across the barren wasteland.

"Look whatever it is I'm pretty sure its nothing we can't handle, still I'm pretty sure we need to have a little _"chat"_ with our client about forgetting certain details" Revy added.

* * *

"Shit" Rock said under his breath "I hate being right." Against their better judgment The Lagoon company quickly ducked down and crawled off to the side of the bar and hid behind a table.

(**Play Indestructable Disturbed**)

As they were doing this all five of them noticed a maid, with a suit case machine gun and a umbrella shotgun, killing Manzarella thugs who were trying, and failing, to kill the Maid of Death. Bao was yelling profanities at the men, who were shooting up his bar, saying that they better pay back what they destroyed.

"Is that your maid?" asked Rock as he kept Garcia behind him not risking him getting hit by a stray bullet. Garcia looked on in horror at the woman that he idolized kill men with a quick and cold efficiency. The stories he over heard did not tell how violent the battles were nor did they say how effective Roberta was at killing.

"HEY! Garcia snap out of it" Rock said as he gently shook Garcia out of his state of shock "Is that your maid?" Garcia nodded with a look of shock on his face. Dutch saw this and sighed "Well we just managed to walk ourselves into another war zone. Maybe we can take comfort in the fact that they are to busy killing each other to notice us" Dutch said as he looked to the group with a straight face."We'll be able to sneak out of here without alerting anyone to our presence if we keep our heads down" Dutch said looking out from the cover of the table to see what was happening.

"I agree with Dutch we should get out of here and leave the kid so we aren't mistaken for Cartel members" Benny quickly added flinching every time a shot from the Franchi Spas-12 covered by an umbrella. "Agreed I don't want a time bomb hanging around with us either" Dutch replied. "Great we loose out on a big payday and I miss a great chance to have some fun" Revy moaned at the decision.

At that moment the Cartel members that were still alive took cover behind the walls and were firing in from the windows and the doorway. "Great well the front door is out lets take the back exit, leave the kid and lets go, Revy lead on" Dutch ordered. "If we leave him here there is a chance that he might get killed!" Rock said shocked that they started crawling away.

He knew deep down that these were not sentimental people towards anyone, he was also just as ruthless, yet he knew how to hide such a personality in strange company. However, when it came to children he had a soft spot. Despite his ruthlessness as a killer he knew what it was like to have the innocence of youth stripped from you at a young age and would do anything in his power to prevent other kids from feeling that way.

"We've got no choice! Ah Fuckin Fuck!" Revy grumbled as she crawled on all fours towards the back keeping her head down. As it came time for Rock to leave he stopped and looked down at Garcia. The poor boy was frightened his entire life was flipped upside down with a woman he thought he knew was not even real to begin with.

"Hey Garcia look stay here until they stop shooting. Afterwards go find your maid and head back home and become strong like your father okay" Rock said trying to give the boy a chance to look past the hell he was currently in.

"I-I didn't think she could just... that Roberta could be so... she's not the kind of person to just kill people." Garcia said as tears formed at the edge of his eyes. Rock pitied him, he knew exactly how Garcia was feeling since he had gone through a similar event just like this. "YO! Rock lets go!" Dutch yelled at Rock telling him to get a move on.

As Revy made her way closer to the exit she managed to hear Bao yell her name over the gunfire. "REVY! Grr." Revy looked over at Bao who, at least in her mind, was apparently angry at her for no reason. "YOU BITCH! Revy is this your fault?! How many time are your friends going to destroy my BAR!"

_"This has happened before?"_ Rock thought as he slowly made his way across the floor.

(**Stop playing song** _**or listen to it until it finishes**_)

"THEIR NOT MY FRIENDS DON'T TRY BLAMING THIS ON ME YOU DUMBASS!" Revy yelled. She quickly noticed that there wasn't any gunfire and slowly turned her head. "Fuck me and my big mouth" she said annoyed at her own bad luck.

"Lagoon company what the fuck are you doing here!? where the fuck is our package?" yelled one of the Cartel members hiding behind the safety of the wall. "Hold on Abreago now is not the time for business we'll talk later. The package is here behind the table just keep calm until we get out of here" Dutch tried to reason as he held his hands up.

Rock held his sword close, ready to draw at a moments notice, as he observed the situation in the bar. _"There are seven maybe eight men taking cover outside with loaded pistols and SMG's. While there is one very deadly and pissed off maid here with an arsenal ready to kill anyone who poses a threat."_ Rock quickly looked back at the table and thought to himself _"Better not fight her until we are in an open space and away from Garcia."  
_

As Rock finished his train of thought he saw Revy look towards the kid as she slowly drew her cutlass as Garcia and Roberta were talking during the pause of the shoot out. "It's only natural that you feel afraid right now but i assure you that when we get home I'll explain everything to you" Roberta said in an eerily calm voice.

Roberta then slowly looked over at Rock who was nearest to Garcia "Who are these people?" she asked as she raised the shot gun pointing it at Rock until Garcia got in the way trying to defend him. Rock smiled _"One day this kid is going to either be a great leader or die saving someone"_ as he thought to himself as he slowly got up. Then Revy came in from the left and was about to hold Garcia as a human shield, Rock got her in a head lock with one arm and covered her mouth with his opposite hand.

"Miss Roberta is it?" Rock asked after grabbing Revy, who was now yelling muffled curses at him from behind his hand. "You and Garcia may leave now I'm fairly certain that you both have a long journey ahead of you and I'm sure we've wasted enough of your time today" Rock said with a smile as he gently pushed Garcia towards Roberta.

"Give me a moment to think about this" Roberta said with a calm voice as she lowered her gun. "What we're not done with you You fucking bitch!" yelled a goon just before he was blasted by Roberta's shotgun.

* * *

Ten minutes past by with all three sides holding their breath waiting for the answer of the deadly maid in the center of the war torn bar. Finally after the long moment of silence Roberta finally spoke.

"I have finished think now. Una venidicion por los vivos, una rama de flor por los muertos."

"That's Spanish" Rock said aloud for the Lagoon Company. "A Blessing for the Living, A flower for the dead."

"Con una espada por la justica, un castico de muerte para los malvados"

"With the sword of justice, A punishment of death for the villains."

"Asi llegaremos, en el altar los santos"

"Like this we will arrive at the alter of the saints" Rock and Roberta finished at the same time.

"By these words I cannot abide by your terms, though I will take the young master home, and must there fore use the Hammer of justice to smite all villains!" As Roberta yelled the last words she raised her guns and fired at Rock and Revy.

**(Play War is the Answer Five Fingered Death Punch)**

Rock immediately grabbed Garcia by the collar and threw him to the side while ducking behind the table for cover with Revy beneath him as the bullets just missed his head.

* * *

When Roberta stopped firing her guns Rock picked Revy up once more and started running towards the front windows keeping her behind him until they were close enough to jump out of the Yellow Flag. Both of them rolled onto the street and started sprinting to a safe distance just as a grenade detonated from inside the bar.

Once Rock and Revy were safely hidden behind one of the Cartel's cars, that was now getting shot up, Revy punched Rock in the face. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR YOU ASSHOLE!" Revy yelled as she aimed another blow at Rock's face. Rock quickly caught the blow before it connected "Quiet do you want to get shot up by that maid or would you like to live to see another day!" Rock said harshly as he averted her eye contact. "We couldn't have a proper firefight in our favor within the Yellow Flag she had us out gunned and would have made mince meat out of us had I not saved your ass. Now if you want to fight and have a good chance at winning we need her out here!"

Revy quickly understood what he was saying, liking the fact he was willing to fight and wasn't interested in talking things through, she quickly drew her cutlasses and was ready to battle the maid.

"Alright so whats the plan or did you not think that far ahead" she asked with an smile that reminded Rock of a kid from Christmas morning. "I'll run across the street drawing her fire while you start shooting at her to keep her occupied got it?"

"Roger" no sooner had Revy answered Rock, he dashed from the safety of the car drawing shot gun and pistol fire, from Roberta, as he ran from car to car avoiding each shot aimed to end his life. Revy then started firing on the maids position unloading her clips in an attempt to either kill her, or put her in a coma, either would suit Revy at the moment.

In response the maid left her cover to seek out the one currently shooting at her as the cartel tried to regroup. Revy kept on firing her cutlasses until Roberta spotted her. Roberta then sprinted towards the car Revy was hiding behind determined to kill her new prey. There was nothing in her way she had a clear path and only the thought of killing her foe on her mind.

Rock then sprinted in from the left and tackled her without any warning, he quickly knocked her weapons out of her reach before he was kicked off by Roberta. They quickly got into a defensive stance ready to fight each other in hand to hand combat.

* * *

_30 minutes later..._

Rock and Roberta threw blow after blow at one another each trying to get the upper hand yet they soon realized that they couldn't land a decisive blow. They kept on blocking each other just as often as they threw punches. Minor hits would make contact and stun the opponent for only a few moments, but they didn't have enough strength to take down their opponent.

In a final attempt to go for broke Rock and Roberta charged towards each other at top speed fists ready to collide, with their respective foes, and all of their strength going into this one final blow.

**(Stop Playing Song** _**or listen to it until it finishes**_**)**

_**BLAM! BLAM!**_

Two shots were fired at the feet of the two combatants who immediately stopped in place and searched for the source of the two shots. It wasn't until they looked up they saw two snipers wielding Dragunav sniper riffles aimed directly at them.

No sooner had they spotted them a commanding woman's voice broke the silence. "It's good that I have both of your attention. I feared that I'd have to kill you both if you hadn't complied" the Russian woman said in a calm voice as she took a puff from her cigar. "Both of you have caused quite a mess in my city and have destroyed a very important asset under my protection." The Russian Woman exhaled smoke casually before she continued. "This would normally result in the death of you, Hound of Valencia, however if it weren't for you we'd be at war with a city we'd rather be allies with" she finished, glaring at the few Cartel members.

"I shall allow you to leave with your young master on the condition that neither of you return to this city on pain of death. I along with the rest of the council shall deal with our affairs personally" the Russian woman said with a sadistic grin that looked like it could split her face.

Revy immediately stepped in fuming at the current turn of events and quickly ran up to the Russian woman and started yelling. "WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE BALALANKA! This bitch starts shooting at us, blows the Yellow Flag sky high and kills a few of our business associates to boot! I'M SORRY BUT THAT SHIT'S NOT GONNA FLY IN MY BOOK!"

Balalanka smirked after Revy finished her rant. "Well, what would you suggest then Revy? Since I've already informed our guests that we will allow them to leave alive" she replied. "I never said anything about killing her" Revy laughed as she looked at Roberta. "You and me, right here and right now, we settle this without guns" Revy said arrogantly holding up her fist to Roberta.

"I don't see any reason that why I shouldn't, I still must bring justice down onto the ones responsible for kidnapping my young master" Roberta answered as she disarmed herself and walked out into the center of the street.

"Heh bring it bitch I'll knock that self righteous thinks right out of you" Revy said as she walked into the center of the road an equal distance away for Roberta. "Before we begin I just want to point out that your shoe is untied" Roberta said calmly as she looked Revy in the eye. Revy scoffed at the statement, yet despite knowing that her boots where tied she looked down for a brief second and was punched in the face for it. Revy quickly retaliated with a punch to Roberta's gut, showing the bystanders that the fight had begun.

* * *

After an hour and a half of fighting the two combatants where bloodied and bruised to the point where they could barley see what was in front of them. Rock saw the fight as a waste of time, but he didn't say it aloud knowing that Revy's wrath would follow him, if he did. He was quite impressed by both women who were still fighting despite the blows received to the skull. Any normal person would've been knocked out after the first five minutes.

Then just shy of the hour and forty-five minute mark Revy and Roberta gathered up the last of their strength and punched one another in the jaw hoping to knock out their opponent. Both blows collided knocking both of the Amazonian women flat on their backs unconscious. Dutch and Benny quickly ran to the unconscious Revy while Garcia ran to Roberta's side to make sure they were okay.

"Well I have to say that was quite entertaining to watch" Balalanka told Rock as she lit a new cigar. "It was fine I guess" Rock replied not really interested in talking about the fight. What her really wanted was to go back to his apartment and sleep, Rock was about to walk away when Balalanka said something that stopped him in his tracks.

"You know for a man who's searching for his kidnapped lover you sure seem to be taking your sweet time here."

Rock quickly turned his head ever so slightly to face Balalanka who was carelessly smoking her cigar. "How do you know I'm looking for someone?"

"Everyone with enough power and influence hears all the stories of great and terrifying warriors across the wasteland, yet you are one of the few that I'd be able to recognize on the spot."

"If you know who I am then you know there are a few people who would love to kill me."

"True yet you are a man who has certain talents that I could use and in return i will give you the information you seek on your target. Refuse to cooperate and, well... I'll leave you to your imagination" Balalanka finished as she began walking back to the comfort of her fortress.

Rock stood there in shock as Balalanka casually walked away. He was just given an opportunity to find the man who took everything he held dear to him and save the woman he loved. "Soon Shin you and I will see each other once more, then I shall have my revenge."

* * *

**Man this was a long one. Please rate and review. Also you may be wondering who this man Shin is and the woman who is. Well you'll have to wait till next time on _Two Guns and a Sword_.**


	6. Chapter 6 Tomb of the Damned

**Tomb of the Damned**

* * *

Rock stood in the middle of a very fancy, clean and well groomed business room with a large mahogany desk in front of a large window. He noticed a large leather chair facing the window hiding Balalanka who was viewing the city below.

"I love this view" Balalanka said calmly as she turned to face Rock. "It shows all that I have accomplished in the days following the war." Rock didn't care about the founding of the shit hole of a city around him all he cared about was the location of Shin.

"I would do anything for this city Rock, and I have, yet there is only so much a person in my position can do. Which is where you come in." Balalanka said slyly. "What is it that you want from me?" Rock asked harshly not wanting to beat around the bush.

Balalanka sensed this and smirked before answering Rock "There is an old weapons cache rumored to be hidden near the wasteland border I want you to find it and leave a beacon that will allow my men to retrieve the larger contents of the vault."

"And what if I refuse to do this job and instead demand the information from you right now?" Rock replied showing his sword to Balalanka.

"Well if you tried to harm me in any way you would be dead before you even grabbed your sword hilt" she replied smiling calmly to Rock.

"Really do you think that my guards would let you get within ten feet of me let alone one without shooting you? If you did then you are a fool Rock, the sword at your hip is useless in a real battle, sure you may kill a few men, but when it comes down to it all it takes is one bullet to the heart to kill a man. The sword is useless even in this day and age don't try to fool yourself into thinking otherwise."

They stood there in silence for a few moments staring into each others souls waiting to see whose will would break away first. Rock then broke the silence, keeping his steel gaze upon Balalanka, wishing to leave the dangerous woman as far away from him as possible.

"Am I required to do this alone or shall someone accompany on this journey?" Rock asked calmly, keeping eye contact with Balalanka the entire time. "As a matter of fact you may call on the Lagoon company they'd be interested in this line of work since you shall receive a handsome reward for your efforts."

"Keep my share of the reward I just want information on where Shin is!" Rock said frustrated with Balalanka struggling to keep himself from openly showing it.

"Very well finish this job and you will find yourself one step closer to goal" Balalanka chuckled as she gave Rock his leave.

Rock ran down the streets of New Roanapur towards the Lagoon Company building ready to tell the team that they had a new job. After three years of searching he was finally going to get a lead as to where Shin was. 'When we meet again Shin I will show no quarter' Rock thought to himself as he quickly climbed the stairs up to the office where everyone was getting ready for the day.

* * *

"So that's what Big Sis wanted to talk with you about?" Revy asked confused at way Balalanka called Rock over Revy or Dutch for a job.

"Yes we just have to find a vault full of weapons and leave a beacon for Balalanka's men to find. It should just be an average job." Rock replied.

"Shit this is going to require some heavy duty equipment if its in the wastelands" Dutch said as he calculated the risks from the elements. "Yo Benny! Do we still have that Geiger counter as well as some radiation medicine?"

"We still have the counter yes, and we have some medicine as well, but we only have enough radiation medicine to give each of us two shots to counter the possible radiation poisoning" Benny replied.

"That'll do Benny! That'll do." Dutch said with a smile murmuring something about missing an old movie under his breath. "Alright we'll head out tomorrow at sunrise and head to the location Balalanka believes this vault is. So everyone get some shut eye we have along journey ahead of us" Dutch said as he turned in for the night.

Everyone soon followed suite heading to their respective apartments for the evening. Rock headed back to the House of the Rising Sun through the dark city lights barely illuminating the streets of the bustling city. Even at the end of the world people found time to stay awake all night to drink, gamble, and fuck their lives till the very end.

"This city is a lost cause" Rock thought to himself as he walked past the shops and bars of the piss scented street. _"No it isn't!"_ he a heard female voice say. Rock quickly spun around searching for the voice, seeking its origin, but there was no one on the street accept an old drunkard and hungry dog.

_"We can save these people Rock it won't be easy, but if we work together we can save them" _the voice said again. Rock searched frantically for the familiar voice that was telling him to not give up hope. Then Rock remembered why the voice sounded so familiar, it was the voice of the woman he loved, Yuria.

'Dammit! I miss you so much Yuria! I'm so lost without you in this world of death' Rock said to the memory of the one he loved. 'Soon we'll be together once I finish this job and defeat Shin we'll be reunited once more I promise.'

By the time Rock arrived back at his room he noticed that there were tears coming from his eyes.

* * *

The next morning went by quickly for the Lagoon Company as they loaded up the Black Dune with the supplies they needed and loaded the many weapons covering the vehicle. Revy sat eagerly in the gunner's seat of the repeater balista mounted at the top of the Black Dune with a swivel post at the very base of the deadly weapon.

Dutch got behind the wheal and started the engine with Benny at the radio and checking the engine coolant and keeping a close eye on the fuel levels. Rock sat behind Dutch eager to complete the job ahead of them.

"Alright gang we're heading Benny you filled up our tanks with gas right?" Dutch asked.

"Yep! We'd able to drive half way across the wasteland if we wanted."

"Well we won't need to worry about going that far; Revy keep an eye out for an undesirables on our tail we don't want any uninvited guests on this expedition"

"Yeah yeah I hear you Dutch" Revy replied lazily as she buckled herself in and wrapped her cloak around her head and neck.

"Alright everyone lets get this show in the road!"

* * *

_Two Days Later..._

"We've been down this section of the map already" complained Revy as Dutch drove down the dunes in front of them.

"We haven't driven down these dunes before you've just spent to much time looking at sand dunes all you see are sand dunes!" Benny replied with a chuckle after Revy shout a plethora of obscenities towards him.

**_(Play Heart of Madness)_**

Rock just ignored the fiftieth argument of the trip and looked off into the distance searching for some sign of the bunker despite knowing that it would be impossible to spot the bunker from the ground but that didn't keep him from being frustrated at the pace they were going. 'The more time we spend out here wasting our time the more time I'm away from Yuria.' Rock was quickly taken from his thoughts when he felt the vehicle come to a complete stop.

Rock was excited when they had stopped, had they found the vault already? Were they finally one step closer to completing their goal and allow Rock to continue his quest for vengeance?

None of these were true. "We need to stop and let the engine cool or we'll never make it back to New Roanapur." Benny said cautiously as he gave the news to the team. He knew Revy had an uncontrollable temper and he was afraid of what Rock would do given the bad news. Not surprisingly Revy beat Rock to the punch by yelling bloody murder and other profanities while Rock walked away from the madness trying to vent his rage elsewhere.

"...AND IF YOU DIDN'T SPEND SO MUCH TIME SCREWING THAT TEEN AGED JAIL BAIT YOU WOULD HAVE FIXED THIS PROBLEM A LONG TIME AGO AND WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS!"

"Alright first off she's nineteen so she would be legal if there were still laws regarding under aged sex and second I bust my ass every day taking care of the Dune whenever I'm not searching for a way to power our offices on solar energy because SOMEONE wants to watch movies at the office instead of walk three blocks to see a movie at the theater!"

Rock drew his blade when he knew he was a safe distance away from the rest of the group and began swinging his blade in a deadly dance of beauty and death. He focused his anger and sorrow into each of his swings imagining it was Shin he was slicing into with each movement and each cut.

"OH YOU HAD TO GO THERE HUH! YOU HAD TO GO THERE! WELL I'M SORRY IF THE LOCAL "_CINEMA" _ISN'T TO MY LIKING!"

Rock kept swinging his blade faster and with more power each time blowing sand in large clumps in all different directions. He continued swinging with such force moving back and forth in a straight line perfecting his form with deadly precision. After the fifth completion of the form he noticed something metal in the sand and knelt down to get a closer look at the object.

_**(End Song)**_

"Hey come over here I found something!" Rock yelled to his companions as he brushed the sand away from the object. When they group arrived Rock had uncovered enough of the metal object that it revealed a large number 107.

"Holly Crap! Rock I think you might have just discovered the Vault we are looking for" Benny said excitedly as he quickly knelt next to Rock to get a better look.

"Well its about Fucking time" Revy exclaimed as she looked over Rock and Benny's shoulders as saw the edge of a very large Durasteel door.

* * *

After an hour of digging and dusting the Lagoon Company finally revealed the door in its entirety. It looked like a giant gear and looked to be over 8 feet (2.44 Meters) in diameter and must have been at least a foot (30.5 cm) thick to survive the initial nuclear blasts and keep any and all radiation from entering the Vault.

"Alright Revy, Rock go get the climbing gear in case we find there aren't any stairs when Benny opens the door, Benny and I will keep a look out for any unwanted guests that happen upon our location." Dutch said as he took out his Remington Shot Gun from the drivers seat of the Dune.

While Rock and Revy gathered the climbing equipment Benny was buisy unlocking the Vault with a foot long titanium key that looked more like an old cross tire iron. The only difference was that one of the four arms was a very toothy key the likes of which Rock had never seen before. With a the key in place and a quick turn the Vault door hissed open sending even more sand everywhere as it slowly opened.

Rock looked down and saw nothing but a pitch black abyss awaiting them down below. Dutch quickly took out four military grade glow rods and dropped them down the hole before handing Revy and Rock two large flashlights and twenty glow rods each. He also took out a large object that looked like an advanced battery.

"Alright try not to use all of the glow rods at once spread them out as much as you can when you only have the flash lights to give you light. Also if your light breaks there is a spare bulb in the back of it to allow you to keep going. Now just find where the ammo and other supplies are replace the current battery in the generator, then get out so we can set up the beacon and go home, there's no use staying here longer than we have to."

"Got it Dutch this is a simple bag and tag job no worries we'll be in and out before you no it" Revy said smugly as she set up her line and descended into the Vault.

Before Rock did the same Dutch stopped him "Hey i know you and Revy aren't have the best of partners but keep an eye out for one another there's no telling whats down there." Rock nodded in agreement before descending into the abyss below.

* * *

When Rock landed on the ground all that was visible was a yard of the concrete ground that the Glow Rods could show. Rock and Revy immediately turned on their high powered flashlights showing some of the room that they were in. From what they could tell it was a steel room with four paths at the ends of each wall leading further and further into the Vault.

"Alright lets pick a hallway then see what we can find. If we're luck we might find some cool guns or a few medals we can trade for ammo" Revy said with a smirk as she walked down on corridor. Rock followed yet was less enthusiastic about the spoils of dead men and women that might lay in the vault.

After walking past several locked doors and empty rooms they finally came across a large door that said **"Generator"** on it; thankfully for them both it was open. Inside the dark room was several turbine generators with large cables connected to a large switch on the far side of the room. Revy quickly ran over and flipped the large power switch, she grinned widely as the lights flickered on throughout the room and the hallway.

"Lets see what's behind door number 1!" Revy said wanting to see the secrets hidden within the vault. She quickly ran to the nearest door that was now unlocked because the generator was powering the whole complex.

Inside the room were several crates and metal boxes marked in big bold letters the words Military or Ammunition on them. Revy immediately began opening the crates to see what _"goodies"_ were inside. What she saw in the first crate where full of ACR Riffles with the clips still in the guns and extra's set up next to them. The second crate held six Milkor MGL grenade launchers and six additional grenade drums. The third crate she opened held over forty IMI Desert Eagle pistols with one spare clip for each gun.

Revy immediately grabbed one of the Desert Eagles and tossed it to Rock who caught it with relative ease, "Here you'll need something to defend yourself better than the piece of junk you have at your side." as she motioned to Rock's sword.

"Thank you for the offer but I won't need it" Rock replied as he set the gun down on a crate and help her look through the inventory in the small room finding a full box of Ak-74's in the corner.

"What's the matter Rock HUH! Are you too good for my gifts?!" Revy yelled angered at Rock's refusal of her gift.

"I said I _appreciated_ the gift but I don't need it, this sword is all I need and besides I'd rather not take a gun that would go better in the hands of Balalanka" Rock told Revy as he opened another crate that held a variety of ammo for the different weapons in the room.

* * *

They didn't talk to one another for the next two rooms as they found more weapons and ammo, food, cloths and tools all locked away from the horrors of the world. They quickly made their way down the hall trying to map all of the vault marking any and all hazards that may be hidden within for Balalanka's men.

As Revy open the forth door a powerful foul stench hit both of their nostrils when they barely stepped into the room. As Rock looked in he saw a gruesome sight, five dead bodies with holes in each of their heads. It was a grizzly sight their flesh was decomposing yet not as fast a rate as if they were buried underground.

From what Rock could tell the bodies had been here for a while, probably four or five years showing their rate of decomposition, he also noticed that they were wearing the military uniforms of the Eastern Coalition Forces.

'They must have been stock piling the weapons for the army to gather or use at a later time. That would put them right around the end of the war' Rock thought as he made his way in after Revy.

"Look at this Rock" Revy as she walked through the room examining the dead bodies "We are in a tomb of forgotten souls, no flowers no markers just a bunch of dead bodies. Man I hate these kinds of places they stink to high heaven and they make it nearly impossible to breath." She said in an annoyed monotone as she searched the two dressers and the small containers littered across the room filled with the personal effects of the deceased.

Rock knelt next to one of the fallen soldiers who was clutching a journal over his heart with a pistol in his other hand. "Hey Revy, what do you think was going through their heads before they killed themselves?" Rock asked as he reached for the journal.

"Who cares what they were thinking at the end, it doesn't affect us so we don't have to worry about it." She said as she started removing gold star from one of the dead bodies.

"What are you doing!" Rock yelled shocked that Revy was looting the dead body."These are the personal effects of the dead! We don't have the right to take these objects from them!"

"So what?" Revy replied with a powerfully calm voice. "Look Rock I'm gonna be frank with you on this topic only once so listen real good." Revy picked up the severed head of a soldier and held up the gold star for Rock to see. "What are these?" she asked with a mono-toned voice.

"That's a head and a military medal fo-"

"Wrong! They are just things Rock as soon as you strip away their meaning then that's all they really are, just things and nothing more. And if you want to give any kind of value to these _Things_ then they won't be seen as something like a memento they'll be exchanged for the one thing that everyone can agree on currency. The truth is Rock it all comes down to what someone is willing to pay for it weather it was with money, bullets, fuel, or water it's the one thing that everyone can agree on. The rest of it is just a bunch of sentimental bullshit."

Rock looked away from her trying to rap his mind around her philosophy before asking her with a serious look on his face "Is currency your God?"

"It's power. Something far more useful and reliable than God. If you think about it Rock Love and God are just pipe dreams in the world we humans made up to try and keep ourselves from noticing the ugly truth. I discovered the ugly truth when I was just a brat barely making a living on the streets, after the Cops beat the shit out of me for no reason at all. I was nothing but a gutter rat to them and God didn't even offer a helping hand to stop the fuckers from beating my face in." she chuckled darkly as she pocketed the medal.

"Currency that's what I put all my faith in from that day forward and it's helped me out allot since then. So fuck god and all that shit I'll take a loaded gun and a handful of bullets over him any day."

Rock tried to apologize to her but he was interrupted by Revy once more. "Don't you dare pity me. I don't need your fucking sympathy if I wanted it I would've added some more sad shit to my story but the truth is I don't fucking care."

Revy let it sink in as she moved from body to body gathering their medals and wedding rings before she turned to Rock and said with a very dark tone "...And if you every try to compare me to the blonde rich bimbo's who used to live on Palm Beach soaking in the sun all day and get fat, we wont be on friendly terms any more I'd rather be treated as a whore by my friends than be on the same level as those hypocrites...And if you ever bring up the righteousness crap ever again I'll fucking kill you."

With that Revy exited the room pleased with her haul from the room and left Rock alone to contemplate what she said.

* * *

They didn't speak for the next half hour as they searched through two more rooms in the Vault. They worked quickly in silence until they heard a loud crash down the hallway. They quickly dropped what they had and looked towards the direction the noise came from.

Only a few steps down the hallway and Revy found some cover drawing her guns with a sadistic smile on her face. "What do you think it was?" Rock asked as he hid behind cover as well.

"There are only two things that could be knocking on the door Rock, the ghost's of the dead guys or Grave Robbers, and since the dead guys are only two doors down it's safe to say it's the latter."

Then after no more than ten seconds had passed Revy exposed herself and fired six rounds at the unfortunate looters in her sight. Revy was able to squeeze off four more rounds before the looters began returning fire. As the fire fight was commencing Rock was able to focus on what the looters were saying by reading their lips.

"John alert the others we need to get those maps now we'll hold off these two bastards" the apparent leader said to one of the others. Rock saw the one called John run back the hallway and disappear from sight just before the other looters began making a tactical retreat away from Revy's hail of gunfire.

Just before the last looter left he threw a small metal object at them before running like a bat out of hell. As the object, which Rock quickly determined was a grenade, landed near their position, he quickly grabbed Revy by her collar and ducked into the nearest room shielding her body from the fiery blast that shortly followed.

No sooner had the blast ended Rock and Revy got up and ran towards the main exit of the Vault hoping to get some answers on what was going on. As they made their way through the winding hallways they finally made it to the entrance. Just as they were about to heave a sigh of relief they spotted the looters climbing the walls of the Vault fairly quick.

Revy started firing at the ones closest to the ground killing three before she tried shooting the few further up the wall. While Revy was preoccupied Rock started looking for their climbing equipment and saw that their ropes where still intact yet he didn't know for how long.

"Revy lets go" Rock shouted as he started climbing up the wall with relative ease. Revy soon followed after she emptied her clips trying to get one more kill in and failed making her more angry than she already was.

Rock was nearly half way up the wall when he felt vibrations in his rope he quickly realized that someone was cutting his rope. He quickly swung over and grabbed Revy's rope before letting go of his own line. Less than a minuet later the rope he was once climbing fell to the dark depths of the vault below. Not wasting any more time Rock launched himself up by several feet on Revy's rope traversing the length of the line far greater distance than climbing alone.

With one last pull Rock launched himself out of the vault and into the air above the five looters that were still near the entrance. Before he even landed on the ground Rock drew his sword and aimed it at the one who was trying to cut the rope. Rock skewered the man through the back of the head before cleaving through the two unfortunate looters next to the now dead man. Rock quickly leaped towards the final two looters slicing through one's torso while stabbing the other in the collarbone and pinning him to the ground.

Rock slowly brought his face to the squirming looter who was trying and failing to get Rock's blade out of his shoulder "Now I want you to tell me everything you know or I'll make you suffer a pain so great that you'll wish for the sweet release of death, do I make myself clear?" Rock asked in a very quite voice that one would almost mistake for a whisper if they were listening.

The looter quickly nodded and started sweating profusely as he saw the look in Rock's eye's that showed nothing but pain and death if he didn't cooperate. In a matter of minuets rock learned all that the man had to offer who he was working for, where his comrades were located, why they were there and over six different hideouts that they used in the nearby area.

When Rock had all he needed he pulled his sword out from the looters shoulder. The man had a look of relief on his face even after Rock decapitated him. Revy would finally exit the Vault less than five minuets after Rock finished his interrogation, it was only then that he filled her in on who they were dealing with.

* * *

**Well guys what did you think of this chapter? Hope you enjoyed it the next one will be out soon and will follow the events of what has just happened now. I'd like to thank all of you for the Favorites, Follows and Comments it makes me feel great knowing that there are people who like my stories. Please rate and review down below and always make sure your gun's safety is off (LOL). BYE BYE!**


	7. Chapter 7 I Stand Alone

**I Stand Alone**

* * *

**_Previously..._**

_"Revy lets go" Rock shouted as he started climbing up the wall with relative ease. Revy soon followed after she emptied her clips trying to get one more kill in and failed making her more angry than she already was._

_Rock was nearly half way up the wall when he felt vibrations in his rope he quickly realized that someone was cutting his rope. He quickly swung over and grabbed Revy's rope before letting go of his own line. Less than a minuet later the rope he was once climbing fell to the dark depths of the vault below. Not wasting any more time Rock launched himself up by several feet on Revy's rope traversing the length of the line far greater distance than climbing alone._

_With one last pull Rock launched himself out of the vault and into the air above the five looters that were still near the entrance. Before he even landed on the ground Rock drew his sword and aimed it at the one who was trying to cut the rope. Rock skewered the man through the back of the head before cleaving through the two unfortunate looters next to the now dead man. Rock quickly leaped towards the final two looters slicing through one's torso while stabbing the other in the collarbone and pinning him to the ground._

_Rock slowly brought his face to the squirming looter who was trying and failing to get Rock's blade out of his shoulder "Now I want you to tell me everything you know or I'll make you suffer a pain so great that you'll wish for the sweet release of death, do I make myself clear?" Rock asked in a very quite voice that one would almost mistake for a whisper if they were listening._

_The looter quickly nodded and started sweating profusely as he saw the look in Rock's eye's that showed nothing but pain and death if he didn't cooperate. In a matter of minuets rock learned all that the man had to offer who he was working for, where his comrades were located, why they were there and over six different hideouts that they used in the nearby area._

_When Rock had all he needed he pulled his sword out from the looters shoulder. The man had a look of relief on his face even after Rock decapitated him. Revy would finally exit the Vault less than five minuets after Rock finished his interrogation, it was only then that he filled her in on who they were dealing with._

**_Now..._**

Rock and Revy caught up with Dutch and Benny who were over a half a mile away from the Vault armed and ready to face any of the unwanted raiders that had reared their ugly faces. Rock and Revy were quickly filled in on the events that transpired while they were below ground.

The Raiders arrived on the scene two hours after Rock and Revy descended into the vault. Dutch and Benny were barely able to make it out of there alive as they fled the Vault's entrance. Thankfully for the two of them the raiders decided to let them flee as they sent a small platoon down the Vault.

After that was made clear Rock and Revy told Dutch and Benny what they discovered and how they were able to escape from their new "friends" and what they happened to learn from them.

"They call themselves the The Brotherhood of Aryans, from what I was able to gather, from the man I interrogated, they are a para military group that made a deal with Warlord to gather the contents of this Vault in order to gain entrance into the city." Rock told the rest of the group as he wiped his blade clean of blood.

"Yeah from what Benny and I were able to tell they are packing some heavy firepower, they have mini-guns and .50 cal Ma Duce's mounted on their vehicles and they have plenty of RPG's to blow us sky high!" Dutch added as he took a long drag from his cigarette. He was lucky that his military training paid off when the bullets were flying over head and the rockets were hitting the ground and exploding far too close for comfort. The experience brought up several memories during the war that got his blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing through his body.

After a few minutes of comparing notes and counting the number of men they were up against, they overlooked a large outline of the enemy encampment near the Vault. They marked the number of men who were stationed at the different sectors of the camp and what they were armed with. What vehicles had turrets and how many tents and RV's were set up in the area and how they were placed.

"Alright so what Balalanka wants is currently in their hands and that is not good for our reputation, now Benny can set up the beacon to help her men find our location yet it will take time for them to arrive so what I'm thinking is we hit them when it's dark and drive them far enough away until the cavalry arrives to retrieve the goods from the Vault" Dutch said as he started drawing up a plan on the map

"Revy and I can hit them on these two points here, while you and Benny guard the beacon. Once these bastards are gone we can move in and secure the Vault." Dutch said as he finished the plan of battle and looked at Revy who was staring blankly at the map.

Revy looked at the crudely drawn map and memorized every detail without a second glance. She was still pissed off at the conversation she and Rock had in the Vault. His words were like venom to her especially in this day and age, there was no room for weakness and sympathy in her world. Rock was nothing but a relic living in this new age of power and death. She hated him for that, she hated every ounce of his being for that and if given the chance she would put a bullet through his brain just so he wouldn't be in her world anymore.

* * *

Revy and Dutch left Rock and Benny behind with the Lagoon as they slowly made their way towards the large camp carrying a large arsenal with them. Dutch carried a large bag full of ammo clips and shot gun shells for his M60 Winchester Machine Gun and his Remington Pump action Shot Gun. Revy carried her favorite M-79 40mm Grenade Launcher and twelve rounds along with over ten clips of ammo for her twin Cutlasses that clung to her sides.

They moved quickly and quietly across the sandy dunes that surrounded the loud and active camp that was celebrating some grandiose event as they waved the Nazi colors and Confederate flags over several trailers. Dutch set up his Machine gun at a perfect vantage point that allowed him to see the "happy campers" below and great cover from enemy fire.

Revy circled around the camp loading her grenade launcher as she ran to fulfill her desire for blood. Revy made her way closer to the camp spotting a group of eight men surrounding a campfire drinking a variety of alcoholic beverages. She smiled a wide toothy grin as Revy saw that none of the men surrounding the area had weapons on them.

**(Play Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson)**

She aimed the barrel of the grenade launcher at the group of men surrounding the campfire and pulled the trigger sending the round to the center of the group. When the round landed the explosion killed all of the men and sent all eight of them flying several feet back. Revy quickly loaded up a second round and aimed at the nearest vehicle and destroyed it in a fiery explosive spectacle that set much of the surrounding camp and on fire.

Revy fired another round at a group running frantically trying to react to the attacks from the devil woman. After firing the third grenade Revy dropped the launcher carelessly on the ground and drew her cutlasses from their holster's and cocked them each before holding them at her sides.

She slowly made her way through the camp shooting men left and right with ease and deadly precision. She no longer had a toothy grin she had a moments before, she now had the look of a stone cold killer killing men without even showing any joy or rush of adrenaline. She only felt a great rage that was boiling deep within her as she remembered Rock's words.

They made her disgusted, his words of sentimentality, honor, love, they were pipe dreams in this day and age. Rock was a relic from the old world and would die if he kept his current mindset, if it had to be by her hand it would rid the world of one more fool. Revy imagined that every man she killed was Rock and it made her more even angrier as she made her way deeper into the camp clearing entire sections without having to try.

Dutch looked down upon the carnage, with his binoculars, as Revy killed men left and right with cold and deadly efficiency. He had seen her like this only a few times before, but he knew it was when she was beyond rage. The first time was shortly after he picked her up all those years ago from the streets of New York, the second time was shortly after Benny joined the team and the final time was after the world the once knew was officially gone. Each time it was a blood bath with little to no survivors and if he didn't stop her.

Revy walked past the dead bodies that were piling up around her after emptying her clips for the either time that night. She didn't know how many men she had killed all she knew was that it was more than fifty. It didn't calm her to see this many men dead, it only made her more angry with each step she took towards her next victims. The only thought on her mind was "Who is going to come tempt death next?" as she reached for new clips for her Cutlasses.

**(End Song or keep listening it's awesome)**

Just as she grabbed her new clips she heard someone running towards her causing her to jump back and get ready to face this new foe. Out came a man who stood over six foot six wearing a dusty yet well kept Nazi officer's uniform with the emblem of an officer gleaming in the bright firelight.

"So you're still alive little girl? I compliment you on your audaciousness. The name I have carried proudly since birth is Thrix Standford I am the acting Captain of The Brotherhood of Aryans and you a nefarious grave robber this is clearly the most fated of confrontations. For the sake of those who died for the Union You shall atone with your blood!" he yelled as he drew a golden Luger from his holster for her to see flashing it off. Revy could have cared less as she slowly loaded her cutlasses.

"Behold! Witness this mighty gun I wield! I call it the Eisen Reich Luger Special! The barrel is the Luger artillery long and the frame is harden carbon featuring a thick grip and a two bullet chamber it is one of a kind this weapon is simply too destructive to be labeled as simple refereed to as specialized and Man stopping! I am the only one on Earth capable of taming this terrible gun! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you afraid? There's no way you're not, now witness the awesome power of-" "BLAM!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Revy yelled after shooting the ranting captain in the chest careful to miss his vitals before continuing her rant. "Didn't you see I wasn't even listening? I mean were you trying to sell me the damn gun or what?"

"You fucking coward..." Thrix said in a raspy voice as he tried getting up off the ground only to be stepped on by Revy who aimed her gun straight at her head.

"Now it's my turn to talk. Here's a little advice if you can hit your target pretty much any gun will do, now that's one to grow on say hi to the Furer for me would ya!" She said as she put a bullet through his skull scattering his brains on the ground.

* * *

"How do you think they are doing?" Rock asked Benny as they looked at the destruction from a distance. Less than an hour had passed and Rock was on edge feeling as if he should be there in the middle of battle with them.

"Heh this is the first time you've had to wait on the side lines right?" Benny laughed as he leaned back in his chair opening up a beer can to sip on while he waited patiently for the fighting to end. "No I have to admit this is the first time I haven't taken part in a fight since I was just a boy" Rock confessed as he sat down on the ground next to Benny as he took a drink from his water flask.

"Well you'll get used to it even when we aren't fighting guys with guns Revy and Dutch take care of them by blowing them away with whatever is at their disposal. I mean honestly no offense but what could you do with just a sword?" Benny chuckled as he gulped down the rest of his beer.

Just as Rock was about to retort he felt something that was extremely familiar, something that only a man with years of training and dedication could feel. Rock quickly got up and ran towards the fighting going on leaving Benny behind worried that he accidentally antagonized a man who wanted to feel relevant in the world. 'I hope I arrive there in time' Rock thought as sprinted across the dunes kicking up dust all along in the process.

* * *

Revy slowly made her way past several more dead bodies as she came across a long RV that was covered in armor and antennas. When she arrived at the door she began firing in through the window hoping to hit anything inside. When she opened the door she saw six men cowering on the floor two of them clutching their sides from the wounds they received.

"Where is the weapon's stash?" Revy asked coldly pointing her gun straight at the closest man. "I-I-I don't kn-know we are just the mechanics we are barley let out of the trai- BANG! ARGH!" Revy shot the man in the leg when she didn't get the answer she wanted.

"Unaffiliated slaves and non combatants mean nothing to me so I'll ask again where is the weapon's stash?" Revy's tone getting more and more violent as the seconds past by aiming her gun at the forehead of the man she just shot.

"I don't know I swear!" the man yelled hysterically as the barrel pressed harder against his forehead, the cold metal sending shivers throughout his body. "Wrong answer" Just as Revy was about to pull the trigger her gun was knocked away from the cowering men by the butt of a Shot Gun. "Revy what the hell are you thinking?" Revy looked up and saw Dutch glaring at her as she knelled on the ground.

Dutch grabbed hold of Revy and dragged her out of the RV by her arm and slammed her into the wall. "Dutch what the Hell's your problem, I was just doing my job Dutchy bloodbaths are what we do best isn't that right?" Revy asked sadistically without any hint of remorse for the dozens of lives she took.

"A gunman is a professional a shooter is someone who's got issues, I do not remember hiring Charles fucking Whitman! If you wanna go out an kill like crazy you are free to do so but if you loose your shit I die to, So keep it cool or go find a fucking tower and shoot up an entire city."

"Fucking Great now you're gonna preach to me to? Spare me the bullshit Dutch!" Revy yelled as she slowly reached for her other gun.

Dutch did the same reaching for his .44 magnum at his side "What do you expect Two Hands I'm your employer after all"

They both quickly drew their weapons and turned to the opposite sides of the trailer and fired their guns killing six men who thought they could sneak up on two of the deadliest gunmen they would ever face in their short pathetic lives.

"Wow that actually worked" Dutch said after the men were all dead. "Yeah, didn't think they'd be that stupid" Revy responded as they reloaded their guns.

"So Dutch what's on the agenda?" Revy asked casually as if their previous banter had never occurred as they slowly walked past the dead bodies of the "foolish soldiers" Revy thought. "The commander he's here somewhere and when we find him we'll get some answers and whatever it is Rock said they stole.

After a few short minutes of walking with almost no resistance from the raiders who probably were smart enough to know not to mess with these two walking embodiment of death. "So have you cooled down Revy? Dutch asked Revy as they made their way through the camp.

"What do you mean?" She asked annoyed as they made there way slowly past more tents and vehicles in the camp.

"Well in case you haven't noticed you get Whitman fever every time we get a new crew member the exact same thing happened when Benny first came aboard."

"Not digging to deep is our style don't you agree? I'll finish the job dot you worry." Revy responded casually "You better our you wont be able to support your way of living. I'll head to the southern part of the camp you keep heading west and see if you can't find the weapons stash or the commander got it?"

"Yeah yeah I got it" Revy replied annoyed once again by Dutch's constant nagging as she made her way deeper into the camp.

* * *

Rock made his way into the camp and saw that there were scattered bodies everywhere. 'Looks like they have themselves preoccupied with these goons" he thought to himself as ran through the camp. Rock kept heading west feeling his opponent getting closer and closer with each stride soon he would meet his opponent head on and if Heaven was on his side answers.

After a few minutes of running through the camp Rock arrived at a very large tent on near the edge of the Camp surrounded by three large Humvee's and two armored trucks making any attack from the rear nearly impossible. Rock didn't need years of training to tell him that this was his destination.

"Who Dares to attack my army?" yelled a booming voice from the inside of the tent. The voice would have made any normal man coward in fear at the mere sound from afar, Rock however didn't even flinch his will hardened by determination and vengeance.

"I, Rokuro Okajima, challenge you" Rock replied as he prepared to face his hidden opponent. As soon as the words left Rock's mouth the tent flap opened reveling a seven foot man with a diamond tattoo near his left eye holding a large Iron Tetsubo club that was just as tall. The man looked down upon arrogantly Rock judging his stance and appearance, and chuckled at what he saw.

"You honestly seek to face me with a mere blade such as that HA! This is my Tetsubo it has crush over a hundred swords in my hands and can crush ten man with one blow you would be foolish to try facing me, so why don't you surrender peaceably and leave or I'll be forced to introduce you to death himself" The Commander laughed as he swung his Club onto his shoulder.

"The only man that shall die is you" Rock said as he quickly drew his sword and readied himself to attack. "Huh? Well if you really want to die let's go!" The Commander yelled as he swung his club with the force of a freight train at Rock hoping to finish him in one blow. The club smashed into the nearest car crushing the engine and launching it back five feet.

To the Commander's surprise there was no body crunched nor blood splattered everywhere. When he looked over he saw Rock bending backwards then quickly stood straight up defiantly in the face of the large man. The Commander raised his club once again and quickly swung it down with the force of a artillery shell falling to earth. Rock merely sidestepped the attack and swung his sword slicing through the left shoulder of the commander in one quick motion sending it flying, followed by a large fountain of blood.

The Commander didn't realize his arm was gone until he saw a large puddle of blood surrounding his feet. Turning to his left he saw Rock only for a brief moment as the sword sliced through his knees sending his face down into the puddle of his own blood. The Commander screamed in agony as the pain finally registered throughout his body cursing Rock and his parentage before he finally yelled something that caught Rock's attention.

"...And Fuck that Russian Whore who sent you!"

"What did you say?" Rock asked taken aback by what was just said.

"If she wants a war with the King then she will die for it with this act of war! My King will slaughter her men and place her head with those who have dared to challenge him in the past!" The Commander screamed his face covered in his own blood as he tried using his one good arm to keep him up just enough to face Rock.

"Who is your King and why does Balalaika wish to fight him?" Rock asked frantically helping the Commander up so that he may learn some answers before the man died. Only one name escaped his lips before the Commander died in Rock's arms it was a name of a man that Rock sought after for the past five years. "Shin..."

* * *

Rock made his way back to Benny long before Dutch and Revy returned from clearing out the rest of the camp. He asked Benny not to mention the personal mission that he went on into the camp to the rest of the gang despite the great amount of evidence of his disobedience left by the dead man missing three limbs. Benny merely nodded and awaited the return of Dutch and Revy as the night went on.

Two hours later Dutch and Revy would return to confirm that the camp was cleared out of all threats and went to sleep until the following morning. Revy gave Rock the cold shoulder for the morning that came all to quickly for them. When they woke up they were greeted by the sight of ten military transports all bearing Balalaika's standard the Russian flag with a black scar in the middle signifying it was her army that arrived.

What was an even greater surprise to everyone, excluding Rock, was the arrival of Balalaika herself in the leading military trucks with her officer's coat hanging off her like an intimidating cape showing both her rank and power over her men.

Balalaika greeted Dutch with a smile as she lit her cigar and took a long drag savoring the taste of both the cigar and the victory she claimed. "Good day Dutch. I'm glad that you and your crew were able to secure the Vault for us I hope you didn't have to much difficulty doing so" Balalaika asked looking at the burning remains of the enemy camp off in the distance.

"It was nothing we couldn't handle though I would like to know what it was they wanted aside from the standard weapons and supplies?" Dutch asked politely knowing he'd be pushing his boundaries if he didn't tread lightly asking questions of Balalaika.

"Since you fought a large force of men I didn't expect to arrive here I belief you deserve an answer" As Balalaika reached into her coat pocket for an item. Rock didn't say anything aloud but he didn't believe for one second that she had no clue about the small army arriving at the Vault entrance.

Balalaika took out a small object that looked like a green computer disk that was cracked down the middle "This is what I've been looking for."

"A stupid disk? That's what we were after a GOD DAMNED DISK!" Revy yelled as she stomped forward pointing at the damaged disk.

"This disk is the key to truly rebuilding the world we once knew" Balalaika replied calmly. "This Disk held valuable information on the location of several locations such as this yet as it was damaged a new one was required to give us the location of even more of these Vaults spread out across the Wasteland. This will help us stock up on more supplies and if fate grants us luck, a device that can turn radioactive soil pure once again."

"What is the name of this device?" Benny asked as he leaned in further as he listened closely to what Balalaika had to say.

"The Omega device. It was a secret device that was in the works under the Allied governments fearing the use of Nuclear weapons would lead to Massive Nuclear Fallout across the earth that would kill almost all life on Earth. The idea was to take hundreds of these devices and clean the soil by removing the radiation and turning it into usable energy for the people rebuilding civilization across the new world. Yet before they could create enough to fix the world well... you know the rest." Balalaika paused as she took a drag from her cigar that was only half its length.

"There is hope if we are able to find just one of these devices we can build hundreds of them and rebuild the world anew" She announced with energy and fervor getting the lagoon company energized and on board with her plan. All but one.

* * *

After Balalaika finished her speech Rock approached her after the rest of the crew left to prepare the Dune for departure. "Nice speech you gave, I almost believed that you wanted to save the world" Rock said smoking his cigarette while he talked to her with an arrogant tone.

"Yes it was nice Rock." She replied calmly as she finished off the rest of her cigar.

"Well you won't mind me asking how going to war with another city will complete your goal" Rock asked bluntly.

Balalaika was taken aback only briefly before answering with a smirk "I see, so you discovered that Shin sent these men"

"Yes and I am surprised to find that you haven't attacked him sooner since you have the man power to do so" Rock stated as he leaned back on one of the trucks.

"We have had some difficulties when fighting him yet with your arrival and the stash of supplies that you have found we are on our way to defeating him" Balalaika replied as she started for the door of her jeep.

"Wait! You said that after I helped you with this mission you would tell me where Shin is!" Rock yelled as he held the door open with his left hand concealing his right hand on his sword hilt. What he didn't expect was the cold metal of a Russian manufactured pistol on his forehead.

"You misunderstood me I said when you have finished aiding me then I would reveal to you the location of Shin, until then you will do what I say and when I say it or you will find a bullet in between your eyes with your head on display and you will never find Him or your woman that he holds captive!" Balalaika said with an evil smile on her face. After Rock backed up slowly and released his sword hilt Balalaika drew back her gun and returned it to her coat pocket and turned to face the front of the vehicle.

Just before she closed the door in Rock's face she spoke one final time but didn't bother to face him "Also do not tell the rest of your crew about the foreknowledge of the army's arrival or you will find yourself on display for all those entering and exiting the city of New Roanapur."

After the door was slammed shut in his face Rock slowly made his way back to the Dune and began contemplating on what just happened. He could not believe that he was so close to saving the woman he loved and now so far away. It was as if each step forward he took three strides backwards.

'I'm sorry Yuria. But you must wait a little longer while I finish completing the whims of the Devil' Rock thought to himself as he sat down in the back seat of the Dune praying to whatever God existed to keep Yurai safe and alive until he was able to save her from the clutches of Shin.

* * *

As Balalaika rode comfortably in her leather seat she looked at the new disk that was found by her men off the corpse of a dead soldier unscathed by the world harsh world. "Do you believe any of them suspect what the disk truly holds?" Balalaika's Lieutenant asked as he drove the jeep through the wasteland.

"No. Dutch is a loyal soldier and his lap dog Benny willing to do anything to save the world and Revy, well she enjoys the _"benefits"_ of going on the missions I give her" she said with confident tone to reassure her second in command.

"They are not who I am to concerned with" the Lieutenant replied.

"Do not worry about the swordsman I have him under constant surveillance and I have information that he desires, he wouldn't dare harm me unless he would loose the one chance at saving the woman he loves. That is his one weakness and it will keep him in line for as long as I need him."

* * *

**Well Guys what did you think? I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I will look forward to your feedback. I will hopefully release the next chapter soon after I finish my final see you guys later.  
**


	8. Chapter 8 Sympathy for the Damned

**Sympathy For The Devils**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the Lagoon Company located the vault for Balalaika. Her army was fully armed for a long war if she desired, and Rock already knew who she wanted to fight. They were inactive for these two long boring days hanging around the office doing whatever as they waited for a job.

There wasn't complete peace during the time off Revy kept giving Rock the cold shoulder and dirty glares whenever they happened to be in the same room together. Rock hardly noticed this and chose to ignore it most of the time. The times he did notice the dirty looks sent in his direction he merely ignored them and continued reading the journal he found within the Vault.

* * *

_Entry No.3 August 17th 2009_

_It has been two weeks since I have picked up this journal and I have much to record. The past few days have been very active for the entire community here in the Vault who have been living down here has been bustling with activity as we have just learned of the war has gone global now. While it was only began as a war between The Northern Alliance and The Equator Confederacy, it has now become a free for all war with nations that have no stake to gain in the war fighting just for the hell of it._

_Many of us are concerned with the events going on from above and worry if there will ever be a world left when we resurface. All I know is that I along with my family and the forty other families down here will wait here for as long as we can to await the news that the war is over and that order has been restored._

_Entry No.4 August 21th 2009_

_Things are looking bad outside. The war has apparently gotten even worse in forty eight hours since the last time I wrote in this journal. There is some good new though fifty more people have entered the Vault today and they arrived with weapons ammo and body armor. They say they were apart of some botched invasion plan that went south pretty fast. They appear to be pretty tough but friendly enough to share the living space with us for the time being. They've been through a lot but hopefully they will be an asset to the community. We'll have to spread out our food rations until we harvest the hydroponic farm set up in the artificial greenhouse. I will write more later._

* * *

"Hey Rock!" Dutch said drawing Rock's attention from the journal.

"I need you and Revy to run into town for me and complete a few errands for me. I'd do it myself but the Dune needs some path work after our last job and I think I might have to change the oil." Dutch said as he handed Rock a list. On closer inspection he noticed it was a list of names locations and the quantities of goods.

"I doubt Revy will take this well" Rock said as he got up and grabbed his sword.

"Yeah, well she'll have to tough it out for the day and if she tries to get out of it tell her she won't get to come on the next mission that usually gets her motivated." Rock chuckled at the thought of Revy being left behind on a mission. While he wasn't sure why he was chosen to deal with his boss's clients, being the newest addition to the company, but he decided to keep as active as possible. Every little action would help him get closer to his Yuria.

* * *

"THIS FUCKING SUCKS!" Revy yelled as they walked down the street towards their first destination. She was board out of her mind, having not killed anyone in the past two weeks felt like two years in her mind. She was not able to keep herself occupied watching movies, cleaning her guns or reading old magazines that she memorized to every exact detail.

She would yell at the rest of the crew for most insignificant things, such as moving the book or magazine she was reading, or eating some of "Her" food. She hadn't been like this since Rock brought up an uncomfortable topic two days prior. To Dutch this was having a negative affect on the rest of the crew so sending her out into the city to be active would hopefully keep her active away from the office.

Revy sighed she hated doing the delivery jobs, they were just as boring as lying around the office except it was worse because more often than not she had to deal with people she hated wanted to kill or both. The icing on the cake that made the current job even more unbearable than usual was being paired up with the goody two shoes Rock. She hated him and picked up her pace to try and get to their destinations quickly so she could get back to preparing for a better job that involved killing people.

The first customer was at the strip club and brothel called the Jack Pot Pigeon's Palace. Rock had an uneasy feeling as he walked in through the large twin doors with Revy. What greeted them was the stench of tobacco, booze, and sex. Rock eyes watered after a minute of the exposure to the environment he gagged from the assault on his senses.

Revy chuckled calling him a light weight as they made their way to the man in question Rowan. Rowan was a black man who stood around 5'10" with an Afro and a typical pimp suit that looked as if it had seen better days. He sat in between two busty scantly clad women fondling each of their breasts through the thin material that barely covered up their modesty. As Revy and Rock got closer to Rowan, he perked up after spotting the representatives of the Lagoon Company. He Sat up straight and smiled wide and pulled the two girls closer ready to do business with his favorite suppliers.

"Revy Girl! It has been to long, how have you been?" Rowan asked in a very cheerful voice. "Cut the crap Rowan you know why we're here" Revy said harshly as she took out a list of goods Rowan had ordered that the Company and handed it to the pimp.

"Nice, all of the merchandise is his here" Rowan said as he made sure all of the items he ordered were accounted for. When he looked at the price of the goods his mood turned sour. "Hey wait a minute, whats with the raise in price?" Rowan demanded as he looked at the paper before him.

"Well it's been hard gathering that much booze and lingerie for everyone so the price has to go up on the real deal. Unless you want to risk the health of your customers with the home made shit the local brewers." Revy smirked seeing Rowan's face drop at the alternative.

"Fine tell Dutch I'll pay up" Rowan said reluctantly as he hung his head in defeat.

Revy led Rock out the front of the brothel with a smile on her face proud of her victory over the post apocalyptic pimp. However her mood quickly soured once she remembered that they had a job to finish.

"C'mon Rock whats our next job?" Revy asked annoyed that she had to spend more time with the wet rag of the group. "We've got an appointment with Balalaika" Rock replied grimly, not wanting to be in the same room as that hell spawn in the form of a woman.

* * *

They arrived at a pleasure den with multiple where Balalaika was supervising and filming the multiple people having sex from different angles and multiple positions. The sight sickened Rock. He didn't care that the people were having sex what they did with their time was a person's private affair. What angered Rock was how Balalaika was making a profit off of the people for distribution. He was even sure none of the participants were being compensated for their "work."

"So the shipment Dutch will receive will be late is that what I'm getting?" Balalaika said with a disinterested voice. "He could have sent a courier to inform my men of his dilemma yet he sends you to interrupt me while I work."

"Yeah. You'll have to talk to Dutch about that" Revy responded annoyed by the reminder of another pointless job from her boss.

"It doesn't matter, I have six more filming sessions today so I won't be going anywhere soon. It just adds even more stress to my plate _sigh _I have meeting later tonight if either of you are interested in joining, we'll be discussing the distribution of alcohol and drugs without the Five Protectors permission again."

"Hey are those three chicks taking it up the ass?!" Revy suddenly asked out of nowhere shocked at the act taking place twenty feet in front of her.

"They sure are. If either of you here anything about those trouble makers please inform me I'll make sure you are rewarded properly."

"Sure if we hear anything" Revy said as she exited the orgy fulled room.

"Oh Rock before you go, I should warn you of the dark streets at night they can be very hazardous if you take a wrong turn" Balalaika said as Rock made his way towards the exit.

"I'm sure I'll be fine ma'am but thank you for the warning ma'am, I'll be sure to treat you the same, in time" Rock replied before closing the door behind him.

* * *

After fifteen more stops all across town Rock and Revy arrived at a Church on the edge of the walled city that, despite the damaged buildings surrounding it, was well kept and beautifully maintained as if it hadn't been touched by the great war. The walls looked as if they had been newly painted and the living quarters looked like the spitting image of individual luxury. Rock noticed that the gardens were well taken care of and full of life sending an very powerful spiritual presence through him.

Unfortunately his train of thought was interrupted as Revy opened her loud mouth, spoiling the moment.

"Hey you Old Bitch we're here! It's Rebeca from the Lagoon Company! HELLO!"

It wasn't long before a nun stopped ordering the priests around and confronted them that Revy stopped yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Hey Two Hands shut up! That's the church if you want a meeting you'll do it in the Mess Hall like all the others; can't have you desecrating the house of the lord now can we."

Revy snorted at the insult while Rock merely took it in stride as they made their way into a clean lounge like area of the Mess Hall. The lounge chairs were made with white leather and decorated with fancy pillows and the coffee table was made from rain forest oak with a luxury tea set, set out for the guests to enjoy. Waiting for the party was an old nun with an eye patch drinking a cup of hot tea and smiling at the arriving company.

"Ah Rebeca what a pleasant surprise, how nice of you to visit us on this fine afternoon" the old nun said with a grandmotherly smile as she set her cup down and gestured for the two of them to sit down. Rock removed his sword from his belt and set it on the side of the table sitting up straight and pouring himself a cup of tea, while Revy slumped lazily into the fine leather couch before taking out the list of items on Dutch's checklist.

After quickly reviewing the list of weapons and ammo the old nun finally spoke up.

"Yes we have the required weapons and ammunition that you have ordered except I'm afraid for one item, the grenade launcher"

"Bullshit sister the reason we ordered the weapons from you in the first place is because we need them for our next job"

The old nun sighed heavily before answering Revy with a sly grin on her face. "Well you see we do have the item however another customer is also saying they need it immediately, I'm sure you can see my dilemma here. However since Lagoon is a good customer with us I'm sure I can make an exception, however I want a better deal or a discount on your future services."

"Don't Fuck! With us sister you better play this deal by the books or you'll end up counting money with your toes" Revy threatened as she moved her hand towards her gun.

"My dear I wouldn't make idle threats to my face, if you wanted to make a real point you'd go get Dutchy Boy"

With that last statement Revy snapped and quickly drew her gun aiming it at sister Eda who in turn aimed her gun at Revy. Both of them were ready to start a blood bath on the holy ground in which they stood on. Before either of them could kill one another Rock broke the deadly silence that hung over the air.

"This is some wonderful tea sister...?"

"It's sister Yolanda young man."

"It's been a very long time since I've had the pleasure of drinking tea is this W&amp;M tea that you managed to save from the war?" Rock asked politely before taking another sip.

"Why yes it is, aren't you very knowledgeable young man, I had the fore thought to buy a large amount of this type of tea just as the war was starting." Sister Yolanda replied.

"Yes that company had a long history of delivering a quality product to their customers before the war without fail."

"ROCK will you shut the fuck up!" Revy yelled not breaking her gaze with Eda.

"That's true with any company, even in the world of today don't you agree?"

"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at young man? Are you also saying that its the same for weapons dealers in the wasteland? I'm afraid that we won't have much of a negotiation if you get to hasty" Yolanda replied with a bored look on her face.

"I'm talking about the drugs and alcohol Sister" Rock answered causing Revy to briefly move her eyes over to Rock.

"There have been issues with drugs and alcohol being sold without the permission of the Five Protectors did you know that? Apparently they've been searching everywhere for the offenders yet they have been unsuccessful in finding them. That's because they have neglected one place altogether the Church people who offer solace and comfort to the poor and downtrodden of the city. Sister Eda why was it that you told those priests to put the clean linens in the shed instead of the living quarters?"

Rock saw Sister Yolanda studying him with her good eye trying to see if he was just putting on a show or if he truly knew what he was talking about.

"Young man you can't make rash statements on mere conjecture, you make it sound like the stuff is coming out of this place" Sister Yolanda replied trying to play the naive fool, but rock wasn't buying it.

"It's just a theory"Rock said as he carefully placed his tea cup back on the table. "Also while the Lagoon Company may work with Balalaika and the other Five Protectors we aren't necessarily friends either." he smiled as he let his proposal sink in with Sister Yolanda.

The old Nun chuckled at what she had witnessed. A complete stranger to the city of New Roanapur just diffused a gun fight, threatened her in her own home and made a friend all in the span of a few minutes. It truly was remarkable time to be alive.

"I see your point, if you improve your timing then you'll make it far in this world young man; sister Eda add the grenade launcher to the list of goods. Thank you both for coming now if you both will excuse me evening mass will begin shortly I trust you can see your way out."

Before leaving the room, Revy and Eda swore there would be a rematch on future date, however this banter was interrupted by Sister Yolanda.

"My Dear you could learn a thing from that young man, it takes more than idle threats and waving guns to do business you'll never be successful if you keep doing what you are doing now."

"Go Fuck yourself!" Revy retorted before slamming the door behind her.

* * *

After they left the Rip Off Church Rock and Revy made their way to the market square where they grabbed some dinner at a local noodle shop.

"Sorry for the wait the line was incredibly long, thankfully the noodles are still warm" Rock said cheerfully giving Revy her bowl and utensils.

"I'm not hungry" Revy said looked off to the side disinterested in the food leaning her head on the table as she smoked a cigarette. "Try it, it'll make you feel better" Rock responded keeping his cheerful tone.

"Give me the office key I'll go back myself."

"Then I can't get into the building then."

"Well then, why don't you go back to whats left of Japan."

"No thank you I like it right here, though maybe you could remind me who it was that prevented a bloodbath from happening at the church today. It's just like Sister Yolanda said 'You can't solve everything with a gun.'"

"I'm warning you! You better shut your mouth Rock!"

"You've been like this ever since the Vault. Was it our talk?"

"WHO CARES! JUST DROP IT OKAY!" Revy shouted as she stomped her cigarette out on the ground.

Rock carefully placed his bowl on the table before responding to Revy's outburst. "Revy I'm not going to apologize anymore."

Revy's eyes shot wide open at what Rock just said to her. "What did you just say Rock? I must've miss heard you otherwise you're a fucking Dead man!" Revy said through gritted teeth.

"I DIDN'T MAKE ANY MISTAKE! I have nothing to apologize for, _that's_ what I'm saying." Rock yelled at her slamming his fists down on the table sending the two bowls of noodles flying.

Revy was beyond furious with Rock so much so as she slowly rose to her feet she took out one of her guns and aimed it at Rock. "That's a shame, because you just stepped on a non-negotiable fucking land mine." Revy aimed her gun at Rock's temple pressing the metal barrel firmly into his forehead trying to intimidate him. Yet to her surprise rock wasn't fazed by the act in the slightest.

"Like I said a real shame. There's just one last thing I want to ask you, what do you want on your tombstone Cocksucker?" Revy asked as she slowly applied pressure to the trigger.

"Why don't you write..._'There's no cure for a fool with a gun'_" Rock said keeping his steel gaze with Revy's eyes.

"Well Rock... Goodbye."

**BLAM!(Play Hurt Nine Inch Nails)  
**

As if the devil himself had possessed Rock he managed to grab Revy's gun and avert the bullet out of the way causing it to merely graze the side of his head. "See Revy, not everything can be solved by a gun!" Rock yelled before throwing her gun off to the side.

"You Fucking Bastard!" Revy yelled enraged that she missed a man who stood only an arms length away from her. Before she could react Rock grabbed her by the shirt and brought her face mere inches from his forcing her to look into the dark eyes of the man before her.

"Who are you calling Bastard?! My name is Rock you got that! Fuck I've had more of my fill of this shit I've had enough!"

"You fucking spoiled arrogant sonofa-"

"It's Rock, and arrogant look whose talking! Aren't you supposed to be some bad ass mercenary killing enemies of the city for glory! Yet every time you open you mouth its always Bullets Oil and Booze! You'd think you'd be some hard ass warlord seeking to control a huge chunk of the wasteland yet you're nothing but a god damned grave robber instead!"

"What do you know about my life! What do you know huh tell me about my life?! You who lived in a safe little bubble before the War even began and probably stayed there until only a few months ago, what do you know?!"

"You're right I don't know about your life before the War or what you've been through, I'm not you after all; but still you don't know anything about my life either. It doesn't matter who you are or how you live, we all have to suffer right?" Rock said his tone slowly calming down as the verbal battle continued.

"You have no intention of owning up to that, instead you fall into the part of the tragic heroine and that's the most cowardly thing of all, Revy."

"SHUT UP! It's easy for you this isn't one of those Hollywood picaresque films you love talking about there are no heroes in this life just a bunch of savages that kill or get killed in this world! And forget about pride Fuck your pride! It's shit as far as the eye can see in this world even in this city, there are no Road Warriors going around saving people left and right!"

"Then you've got to become a Road Warrior, its better than feeling sorry about your life"

Revy didn't like what Rock was saying; not because she disagreed with him, but because it was starting to make her feel emotions she had buried deep within her soul a long time ago, and it scared her. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up Rock! I'll kill you, y-you hear me!"

"Then do it keep chasing your tail in the end you'll only prove me right."

"THAT'S ALL I KNOW HOW TO DO!" she yelled swinging her fists at Rock and missing several times before her fist finally connected with barely any strength left in the blow. Rock calmly grabbed her fist in his iron grip causing her to go limp from his touch.

"You should know Revy I had a similar mindset years age and it nearly cost me my life. My best friend tried to kill me and left me for dead, I wallowed in my own self pity for months until I snapped out of it and stated searching for him, killing anyone who would get in the way of my revenge." Rock said as he kept advancing towards Revy still holding her hand in his.

"So don't think you are special just because you've had a rough life, chances are you'll find a hundred people with similar stories just like yours."

Revy ripped her hand away from Rock's grasp shying away from his touch as is he were infected. Revy was about to yell at him tell him that she didn't want his pity, yet Rock interrupted her "But you don't have to shoulder that pain alone. I know it's hard to keep moving forward yet if you'd give me a chance then I'd like to walk that path through hell with you as your partner."

Rock held his hand out for Revy offering friendship she couldn't respond it was the first time in a long time that anyone had even bothered to try and treat her like a human being. It felt alien to her she didn't even know how to respond to the small act of kindness being shown to her. Before she could even respond, Revy found herself flat on her back with Rock on top of her as a hail of bullets flew above their heads.

"FUCK! We missed Him!" yelled a man with a thick Hispanic accent.

"How the Fuck did we miss him he was right fucking there?!" "Well then keep shooting until we get him" yelled two more Hispanic men as they reloaded and aimed their riffles at the two warriors on the ground.

Rock carefully got off Revy and quickly knocked down the two tables near them giving them cover while Revy un-holstered her second pistol and pulled back the hammer as she readied herself for this welcome distraction.

They looked into each others eyes and quickly nodded knowing exactly how to win this fight. Rock dashed off to the side drawing the fire of the eight gunman giving Revy an opening to take out three gunmen in a single barrage before diving down for cover from the hail of bullets flying towards her. With his opening given Rock sprinted forward sword unsheathed an ready to strike down the now dead men who were oblivious to his presence.

As Rock closed the gap between him and the gunmen he thrust his sword into the chest of the closest gunman before slashing across the chest of the another and kicking the face of a third in one quick motion.

All while this was happening Revy retrieved her second gun from the ground and ran towards the fighting unloading her clips as she sprinted towards the action. Her hail of gunfire managed to hit the final two gunmen left alive sending them all to an early grave.

Rock looked over the dead bodies and noticed that each of them were Hispanic in ethnicity, he easily summarized by their decent quality weapons and tattered but brightly colored clothing that they must have worked for one of the warlords given their armament. He knew the Russians weren't behind this because they'd use their own men, and they would've taken a more military approach when trying to kill him given their background and their structure as an organization.

"A few days of investigation would be able to turn up the bastards behind this" he thought to himself as he reached into his shirt pocket and took out a thin cigar lighting it before taking a long relaxing drag, in order to gather his thoughts on what would be the next best course of action. Before he had time to think to himself any further Revy arrived at his side, took out a cigarette.

"Hey Rock I have to ask you this one question and then I promise I won't cause any more trouble alright."

They both turned and faced one another, "What side do you want to be on?" they stared deeply into each others eyes, both of them knowing the answer before he even responded to the question.

"I'm right where I'm standing Revy. No where else."

Revy took a drag from her cigarette before she responded with a small, but genuine smile. "Alright then partner, lets go find the Bastards who are eager for an early grave."

And with that Rock followed Revy feeling the years of isolation slowly lifting itself off of his shoulders as they walked deeper into the city of sin in search of vengeance.

* * *

**Hey guys sorry for the wait I have been doing a lot of stuff over the past few months which includes traveling, studying, and moving I want you to know that I will try and get the next chapter out sooner than this. Please review I love you feed back and I would love some constructive criticism that I may make this story better for you all. I will see you all next time.**


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